Google

This is a digital copy of a book that was preserved for generations on library shelves before it was carefully scanned by Google as part of a project

to make the world's books discoverable online.

It has survived long enough for the copyright to expire and the book to enter the public domain. A public domain book is one that was never subject

to copyright or whose legal copyright term has expired. Whether a book is in the public domain may vary country to country. Public domain books

are our gateways to the past, representing a wealth of history, culture and knowledge that's often difficult to discover.

Marks, notations and other maiginalia present in the original volume will appear in this file - a reminder of this book's long journey from the

publisher to a library and finally to you.

Usage guidelines

Google is proud to partner with libraries to digitize public domain materials and make them widely accessible. Public domain books belong to the public and we are merely their custodians. Nevertheless, this work is expensive, so in order to keep providing tliis resource, we liave taken steps to prevent abuse by commercial parties, including placing technical restrictions on automated querying. We also ask that you:

+ Make non-commercial use of the files We designed Google Book Search for use by individuals, and we request that you use these files for personal, non-commercial purposes.

+ Refrain fivm automated querying Do not send automated queries of any sort to Google's system: If you are conducting research on machine translation, optical character recognition or other areas where access to a large amount of text is helpful, please contact us. We encourage the use of public domain materials for these purposes and may be able to help.

+ Maintain attributionTht GoogXt "watermark" you see on each file is essential for in forming people about this project and helping them find additional materials through Google Book Search. Please do not remove it.

+ Keep it legal Whatever your use, remember that you are responsible for ensuring that what you are doing is legal. Do not assume that just because we believe a book is in the public domain for users in the United States, that the work is also in the public domain for users in other countries. Whether a book is still in copyright varies from country to country, and we can't offer guidance on whether any specific use of any specific book is allowed. Please do not assume that a book's appearance in Google Book Search means it can be used in any manner anywhere in the world. Copyright infringement liabili^ can be quite severe.

About Google Book Search

Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web

at|http: //books .google .com/I

I

l^aii-in

^atbarti CoUege Itbrarn

J. HUNTINGTON WOLCOTT FUND

EntlUiahed by Rdcih Wdlcott (H, U. 1870), In m ' (if hia ftthu. Tor " the purchuH of booki of pi

worki of Hliti»T, Polilical Ecoaom]', ■nd SocIoloiCT.>* (LeOerof Rocer

Received eZj' kCl-lt^, /l^flS.

I

^y < ^

^ y

^

Swallowfield and its Owners

\

LADY RUSSELL AND SON From the original at S^vcdloivfield by George Romney^ R.A.^ painted in 1786-7.

o

SWALLOWFIELD

AND ITS OWNERS

BY

LADY RUSSELL

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS

LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.

39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON NEW YORK AND BOMBAY

I90I

All rights reserved

^jC^X?^^^

7^

JAN r r

PREFACE

The following pages are the result of my having for many years past, during much desultory reading, dotted down everything I have come across that in any way related to Swallowfield or its owners.

I pretend to no style ; my work is simply an * olla podrida * from innumerable sources, good, bad, and indifferent. Some- times the most important events are merely sketched in, and at other times I enter into minute details, which would be gene- rally considered quite unimportant and uninteresting. But I have written this solely for my own family and neighbours at Swallowfield, and have therefore included everything that I thought might interest them.

It is possible that I may occasionally have drawn from various authors without acknowledging my indebtedness, and of these I must ask pardon. Had I ever contemplated the publication of my notes, I should have been careful to give all my authorities ; as it is, I much regret that in some cases it is now impossible for me to do so.

I had intended that this little work should be revised and

vi Swallowfield and its Owners

put into shape by one who took a great interest in it, and whose criticisms and suggestions I should have valued more than any other, but fate has ordered it otherwise ; so I now send it forth in all its crudity, knowing that those for whom it is written will not be critical, and will excuse its shortcomings.

CONSTANCE RUSSELL. Swallowfield.

CONTENTS

CHAPTRR PACK

I. SWALLOWFIELD AT THE CONQUEST I

n. SWALLOWFIELD UNDER THE ST. JOHNS AND DESPENCERS lO

in. SWALLOWFIELD REVERTS TO THE ST. JOHNS . - ^4

IV. LATER ST. JOHNS AND THEIR TENANTS 32

V. THE DE LA BECHES AND BEAUMVS 39

VL SWALLOWFIELD A ROYAL PARK 48

VII. THE PRINCESS ISABELLA 58

VIII. SWALLOWFIELD UNDER ROYAL DUKES 68

IX. SWALLOWFIELD AND THE HOUSE OF YORK . '79

X. SWALLOWFIELD THE DOWRY OF TUDOR QUEENS . . . 88

XI. THE FAMILY OF BACKHOUSE 99

XIL SIR JOHN BACKHOUSE THE ROYALIST IIO

XIII. WILLIAM BACKHOUSE, THE ROS1CRUCIAN 1 24

XIV. SWALLOWFIELD PASSES TO THE HYDES 1 34

XV. SWALLOWFIELD BEFORE THE REVOLUTION I45

XVL JOHN EVELYN AT SWALLOWFIELD 151

XVII. SWALLOWFIELD AFTER THE REVOLUTION 1 59

XVIIL SWALLOWFIELD REBUILT BY LORD CLARENDON . . 168

XIX. DEATH OF LADY CLARENDON 1 78

XX. THE LAST OF THE HYDES 1 87

XXI. GOVERNOR PITT's CAREER 1 95

XXII. THE PITT DIAMOND 203

XXIII. GOVERNOR PITT AT SWALLOWFIELD 2 12

XXIV. CHATHAM'S FATHER AT SWALLOWFIELD 219

viii Swallowjield and its Owners

CHAPTBK PACE

XXV. JOHN DODD AND HIS FRIENDS 226

XXVI. JOHN DODD AND HIS TENANTS .' 236

XXVII. NOTES FROM THE SALE OF SWALLOWFIELD . . . . 245

XXVIII. THE RUSSELLS AT SWALLOWFIELD 252

XXIX. SIR HENRY RUSSELL THE SECOND 262

XXX. SIR HENRY RUSSELL'S REMINISCENCES OF ST. HELENA IN 1821 273

XXXI. SIR CHARLES RUSSELL AND SIR GEORGE RUSSELL . . . 294

XXXII. REMINISCENCES OF SIR GEORGE RUSSELL .... 301

XXXIII. SOME CELEBRITIES IN OUR PARISH 309

XXXIV. SOME OLD CUSTOMS AND ANTIQUITIES OF SWALLOWFIELD . 316

ADDENDA ET CORRIGENDA 339

INDEX 349

LIST OF PEDIGREES

1. PEDIGREE SHOWING THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE

NEWBURGHS, EARLS OF WARWICK, AND THE BEAU- CHAMPS, EARLS OF WARWICK, AND THEIR DANISH EXTRACTION, ALSO THE THREEFOLD CONNECTION OF WILLIAM FITZ-OSBERN WITH WILLIAM THE CON- QUEROR To face p, 8

2. PEDIGREE OF BACKHOUSE OF SWALLOWFIELD ... „ lOI

3. PEDIGREE OF THE HYDES, EARLS OF CLARENDON, SHOW-

ING THEIR CONNECTION WITH VILLIERS, EARL OF CLARENDON, AND SOME OF THE DESCENDANTS OF THE LORD CHANCELLOR „ 1 92

4. PEDIGREE OF THOMAS PITT OF SWALLOWFIELD (* DIAMOND *

PITT) „ 195

5. PEDIGREE OF JOHN DODD OF SWALLOWFIELD . . ,,228

6. PEDIGREE OF THE ST. LEGERS OF SH INFIELD, THE

HUGUENOT FAMILY OF LE COQ ..... „ 230

7. PEDIGREE OF SIR PHILIP JENNINGS-CLERKE, BART. . „ 232

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

LADY RUSSELL AND SON Frontispiece

From the original at Swal/owfield by George Romney^ R*A.^ painted in 1786-7.

EAST END OF ALL SAINTS* CHURCH, SWALLOWFIELD : INTERIOR To foce /. 1 8

ALL SAINTS* CHURCH, SWALLOWFIELD : EXTERIOR . . „ 20

ST. MARY'S CHURCH, SHINFIELD „ 32

JOHN PLANTAGENET, DUKE OF BEDFORD .... „ 70

From the Bedford Book of Hours in the British Museum,

KING HENRY VI „ 72

From a picture in the National Portrait Gallery^ by an unknown painter,

ELIZABETH WOODVILLE, EDWARD IV. *S QUEEN ... „ 80

From a print in the British Museum.

ELIZABETH OF YORK, HENRY VII.'s QUEEN .... „ 84

From a picture in the NcUional Portrait Gallery ^ by an unknoivn painter,

CATHERINE OF ARRAGON „ 86

From a picture in the National Portrait Gallery y by cut unknown painter,

ANNE BOLEYN „ 88

From a picture in the NatiofuU Portrait Gallery ^ by an unkftown painter.

JANE SEYMOUR „ 89

From the painting by Holbein, photographid by HanfstaengL

ANNE OF CLEVES „ 90

From the painting by Holbein in the Louvre,

CATHERINE HOWARD „ 9 1

From a picture in the National Portrait Gallery (School of Holbein),

X Swallowfield and its Owners

QUEEN CATHARINE PARR To face p, 92

From a print in the British Museum.

ROBERT DEVEREUX, THIRD EARL OF ESSEX ... ,, 93

From an engraving in the British Museum after the original of Walker^ in the collection of the Duke of Sutherland at Trentham.

FRANCES, COUNTESS OF ESSEX „ 94

From a picture belonging to the present Earl of Essex,

SIR THOMAS OVERBURY „ 96

From an engraving by Renold Elstracky in the British Museum,

ROBERT CARR, EARL OF SOMERSET, K.G. .... „ 98

From a picture attributed to fohn Hoskins^ in the NcUional Portrait Gallery,

THE MARKET PLACE, WOKINGHAM, SHOWING THE * ROSE ' INN „ I08

From a lithograph drawing in 1832 by P, H, Delamott^ junr.

MONUMENT TO SIR JOHN BACKHOUSE IN SWALLOWFIELD

CHURCH, ERECTED IN 1650 „ I16

BACKHOUSE MONUMENT IN SWALLOWFIELD CHURCH,

ERECTED BY LADY CLARENDON IN 1670 ... „ I36

VISCOUNT AND VISCOUNTESS CORNBURY .... „ 1 38

From the original portrait by Vandyke^ belonging to the Barl of Clarendon,

QUEEN ANNE, WHEN PRINCESS, WITH HER SON WILLIAM,

DUKE OF GLOUCESTER „ 1 44

From the original painted by Michael Dahl in 1695.

FROST FAIR ON THE THAMES, 1 683-4 .... „ 1 46

JOHN EVELYN „ 148

From an engraving by Nanteuily after his own drawing,

CEDARS AT SWALLOWFIELD „ 1 52

THE OLD ENTRANCE, SWALLOWFIELD „ 170

HALL AT SWALLOWFIELD, SHOWING PART OF THE VESTIBULE „ 194

THE PITT DIAMOND, FROM MODELS IN THE NATURAL

HISTORY MUSEUM, SOUTH KENSINGTON ... „ 202

From an engraving in the Diary of William Hedges, by the kind permission of the Council of the Hakluyt Society,

List of Illustrations xi

PORTRAITS OF LADY SHELLEY (wiFE OF SIR JOHN SHELLEY AND SISTER TO HOLLIS, DUKE OF NEWCASTLE), MR. AND MRS. RICHARD SHELLEY, THEIR TWO DAUGHTERS, FANNY AND MARTHA ROSE (WHO MARRIED SIR CHARLES WHITWORTH), CAPTAIN THE HON. WILLIAM FIT2-

WILLIAM, MR. BENYON, AND MRS. BEARD . . To f(Ue p, 2o8

From tke original picture at Swallowfield by Hogarth.

GOVERNOR PITT „ IIO

From the original picture by KnelUry belonging to Earl Stanhope,

BRIDGE BUILT OVER THE BLACKWATER IN SWALLOWFIELD

PARK, BY * DIAMOND* PITT „ 2\%

From a photograph by J. Mason Good,

LORD CHATHAM ,, 322

After a picture by R» Brompton^ belonging to Earl Stanhope.

JOHN DODD „ 228

From an original portrait by Jean Rouquet^ belonging to Miss Parke,

HORATIO WALPOLE, FOURTH EARL OF ORFORD ... „ 232

From a picture painted in 1747 by John Giles Eccardt.

SWALLOWFIELD PLACE IN 182O „ 250

From an engrcanng by J. and H. S. Storer.

MICHAEL RUSSELL „ 252

From the original portrait at Swallowfield painted by George Romneyy R,A.y in 1785.

HENRY RUSSELL (AFTERWARDS FIRST BART.) ... „ 254

From the original portrait at Swallowfield painted by George Romneyj R.A.

NORTH SIDE OF QUADRANGLE, SWALLOWFIELD ... „ 256

ITALIAN STONE GATEWAY : ENTRANCE TO GARDEN AT

SWALLOWFIELD „ 259

SIR HENRY RUSSELL, SECOND BART „ 262

Frofn the original portrait at Swallowfield by George Richmond^ R,A,

CHARLES RUSSELL (AFTERWARDS THIRD BART.) ... „ 294

From the original portrait at Swallowfield by George Richmond^ R.A.

xii Swallowfield and its Owners

SIR CHARLES RUSSELL, THIRD BART., AT THE SANDBAG

BATTERY To foCC p, 295

From the original picture by Desanges^ the property of Mrs, George Brackenbury,

SIR CHARLES RUSSELL, THIRD BART., V.C „ 296

From the original portrait at Swallowfield painted in 1883 3^ Sir John Millais, FR.A,

SIR GEORGE RUSSELL, FOURTH BART „ 3OO

From an original crayon,

THE LIBRARY, SWALLOWFIELD „ 302

THE DRAWING-ROOM, SWALLOWFIELD „ 304

YELLOW DRAWING-ROOM, SWALLOWFIELD .... „ 306

MARY RUSSELL MITFORD », 310

From a picture painted in 1852 by John Lucas, in the National Portrait Gallery.

SWALLOWFIELD CHURCHYARD „ 314

THE REV, CHARLES KINGSLEY „ 3x5

From a photograph by Draycott.

NORTH SIDE OF SWALLOWFIELD (1900) „ 336

{The reproductions from pictures in the National Portrait Gallery are from photographs by Walker and CockerelL)

SWALLOWFIELD

AND ITS OWNERS

CHAPTER I

SWALLOWFIELD AT THE CONQUEST

That quaint old author Fuller says :

* It is observed that the lands in Berkshire are very skittish, and often cast their owners, which yet I impute not so much to the unruliness of the Beasts as to the unskillfulness of the Riders. I desire heartily that hereafter the Berkshire gentry may be settled in their saddles, so that the sweet places in this county may not be subject to so many mutations.'

Swallowfield, situated five and a half miles south-west from Wokingham and six miles south-east from Reading, has certainly been no exception to the proverbial skittishness, since from the time of Edward the Confessor it has constantly cast its owners.

In the Domesday Survey, Berkshire is divided into twenty- two hundreds, and we find mention of two hundred manors, forty-six of which were vested in the Crown. Amongst the latter, in the hundred of * Cereledone ' or Charlton, were * Selingefelle,' now Shinfield, and * Soanesfelt ' or * Swalfelle,' ^ now Swallowfield, which two manors appear not to have been separated till the year 1553.

* Manerio Regis de Swalfelle, quod est in Berchesire.* Domesday^ Hants,

f. 43a.

r

B

2 Swallowfield and its Owners

1043-66 From the Survey we learn that in the reign of Edward the

Confessor, 1043-66, * Selingefelle ' and * Soanesfelt,' as well as one hide in * Solafel ' in Reading,^ were held by Sexi, * Huscarle Regis E.,' who held them in free manors of the King, and the value of Selingefelle at that time was £*i per annum, and Soanesfelt the same. The Huscarli, though usually domestic servants, were sometimes Thanes and higher tenantry or military retainers. Sexi was probably one of these, as besides manors in Berks he held land in Hants, Cambridgeshire, Warwickshire, and Hertfordshire. The name appears again in the beginning of the fourteenth century ; in 1308 an order was sent to the Sheriff of Berks to release from the King's prison of Windsor, Thomas Sexi.^

1066 At the time of the Conquest, * Selingefelle ' and * Swalfelle '

were given with many other manors ® to William FitzOsbern, Lord of Breteuil,* who was * dapifer ' or steward ^ to William the Conqueror, as well as Seneschal of Normandy.^ William

^ At Solafel in Reading, alodiarii still existed as tenants. * Ibi sunt v. alodiarij cu. ii., car. 7, bord. uno.' Kelham says : * The term of allodium refers to the tenants and possessors chiefly before the Conquest ; it signifies an hereditary and perpetual estate free, and in the power of the possessors to dispose of by gift or sale, but subject to the land-tax of hidage.' This one hide appears at the time of the survey to have been * held by Stephen, son of Eirardi, and Aluric

of him.'

« Calendar of Close Rolls, i Edw. II. membrane 9.

' Professor Freeman says : * The men of Berkshire were, as a race, specially loyal to Harold and to England. Not a single Englishman was allowed to keep his lands on their old tenure, and only two English tenants-in-chief appear in the

Survey.*

* Breteuil or Bretteville (Bretolium), in the arrondissement of Evreux. In 1058 William, Duke of Normandy, built the castle of Breteuil and gave the custody of it to William FitzOsbern ; the site of it already, probably, formed part of his ancestral estate. It was built by the Duke to hold in check the castle of Tilli^res.

* These household offices among the Normans were held by persons of the highest birth and eminence, and became hereditary.

* Thierry says in his Cottquiie de PAngleierrc, vol. i. p. 270 : < Fitzosbert dtait

Swallowfield at the Conquest 3

FitzOsbern was son of Osbern le Cripon, who had been steward to the Conqueror when Duke of Normandy.^

Besides being the chief officer of his household, William FitzOsbern was related to the King,^ and his greatest friend,' and we find the King addressing him as * cousin and councillor.' * It was upon his advice that William, on hearing of King Edward's death and Harold's assumption of the throne, deter- mined to force Harold to surrender it and keep the engagement which he had contracted with the Norman sovereign/

When William assembled his Parliament at Lillebonne, many refused to take part in the expedition, but FitzOsbern entreated them to do so, and in their name he engaged that each feudatory should render double the service to which he was bound by his tenure, and he himself promised to fit out at his own expense sixty vessels, each carrying chosen warriors.^

At the batde of Hastings FitzOsbern, with Roger Mont- gomery, commanded one of the three divisions.^ On the morning of the batde he thought William v/as delaying too long in commencing hostilities and urged him to proceed :

A 90 ke Willame diseit, £t encore plus dire voleit, Vint Willame li fitzOsber, Son cheval tot covert de fer :

S^n^chal de Normandie, c'est k dire lieutenant du Due pour radministralion civile.' Bishop Stubbs says that ' the name of comes palatinus is claimed for the Seneschal of Normandy,' and that a cartulary of Trinity, Rouen, of 1068, speaks of William Fitz- Osbern as * Dapiferi, qui comes erat palatii,' vol. i. p. 372.

* W. Gemet, 399 D. Ordericus Vit 467 A.

' He was second cousin once removed through his father and mother, being grandson of Herfast, brother of the Duchess Gunnor (through his father), and grandson of Ralf, Count of Ivry (through his mother).

' Kelham. * Rad. de Diceto, 479. * Palgrave, Hist of Anglo-Saxons^ p. 307.

• Thierry, ConquSte de P Angle ferre^ vol. i. p. 271. Chron, de Normandie^ vol. iii. p. 176.

7 Gesta W, Ducis^ 208 n. Ord. Vit. 506 C.

B 2

4 Swallowfield and its Owners

* Sire,' dist-il, * trop demoron, Armons nos tuit ; allon ! allon I ' Issi sunt as tentes aid, &c.^

In Benolt's ^ account of the leaders who particularly dis- tinguished themselves at Hastings is the following :

Si n*a dur& acer ne fer Vers Guillaume le fizOsber, Qu*Engleis ateigne si garniz De la mort ne puisse estre fiz.

In the * Roman de Rou * (17051) FitzOsbern the Seneschal is called *Li fils Osber col cuer hardi/ and Pictaviensis says he was considered as the pride of the Normans and the scourge of the English.^ FitzOsbern was rewarded for his services by being created Earl of Hereford.^ The following year he invaded and subdued the Isle of Wight * for his own use and profit,' and he became the first Norman Lord of Wight. His rule over the Island is said to have been more absolute than that of the King himself over the rest of England.^ He founded the Priory of Carisbrooke, and bestowed it, with many other churches, lands, and tithes, on the Benedictine Abbey of Lire in Normandy, which had been established by him.

In 1067 FitzOsbern was made Governor of Winchester,

1070 that city being then second only to London.^ In 1070 he was

sent to Normandy by King William, nominally to protect

Queen Matilda, but Dugdale tells an anecdote to the effect

' Wacc, Roman de RoUy I. 7509 et seq, ' BenoSt de Sainte-More, vol. iii. p. 208.

' * Hunc Normannis carissimum, Anglis maximo tcrrori, esse sciebat.' Will. Fict. 149.

* He erected Chepstow Castle and Clifford Castle above the Wye.

* Carisbrooke Chartulary.

* Planch^, The Conqueror and his Companions, i. 177.

Swallowfield at the Co^iqiiest 5

that William FitzOsbern having set before the King the flesh of a crane half roasted, William struck out at him fiercely, which made FitzOsbern so angry that he gave up his post as steward.^ Anyhow he left the kingdom, and soon after, having married, as his second wife, Richilde, daughter and heiress of Reinald, Earl of H^nault,^ he was made titular Count of Flanders. The following year he was killed in battle near Cassel, and was buried, *amid much sorrow,* at the Abbey of Cormeilles, Normandy, 1071 which he had founded.^

By his first wife Adelina de Toeni, daughter of Roger de Toeni, standard-bearer of Normandy,^ William FitzOsbern * had three sons ; the eldest, William, succeeded him as Lord of Breteuil. He was the friend of Robert Curthose, whom he accompanied to Normandy, and his name figures there in the civil wars. In 1090 he was taken a prisoner at Conches and paid 3,000 livres for his ransom. In 1 100 he was with William Rufus in the New Forest when that King was killed, and immediately after the accident he started off for Winchester to guard the Royal Treasury, of which he was Governor. He there found Prince Henry demanding the keys, and told him that neither the treasure nor the sceptre of England was his, but belonged to his brother Robert. High words ensued and blows were likely to follow, when Robert, Count de Meulent, arriving with a great number of the late King's attendants, William de Breteuil was forced to retire and left Prince Henry master of the Treasury.

* Monasticon, vol. ii. p. 889.

' She was widow of Baldwin de Monte, called the Peace-maker. (Sec Rotulus de Dominabus^ ed. Grimaldi, p. 15.) The heir of Gilbert de Monte had four uncles, Thonaas and John de St. John, Hugh de Plugenet, and Will Fossard.

' Flanchd, vol. i. p. 179.

* This office was hereditary in the family of Toeni (or Toesny).

* The Osbernus episcopus of Exeter, in Domesday^ was his brother.

6 Swal/owjield and its Owners

William de Breteuil died in 1103, leaving no legitimate issue, and he made his cousin Roger de Toeni his heir, but his illegitimate son, Eustace, who held Pacy ^ in Normandy, disputed the lordship with Ralph le Breton, the son of Emma Fitz- Osbern's daughter who had married Raoul de Gael,^ Earl of Norfolk. The latter became possessor of Breteuil and gave it to his daughter Amicia as her dowry. Henry I. affianced her to his illegitimate son Richard, and then * settled on her the barony of Breteuil which had belonged to her grandmother's family,* but Richard was drowned in the * White Ship' in 11 20, and Amicia married Robert de Beaumont, second Earl of Leicester, called Me Bossu,' into whose hands it passed, and remained in the family of these Earls of Leicester® till they became extinct in 1204, when Amicia de Beaumont, who married Simon de Montfort, gave it up to Philip Augustus, King of France.*

FitzOsbern's second son, Ralph, was a monk at Cormeilles;

the third son, Roger de Breteuil, succeeded to the Earldom of

Hereford and * had all the lands his father held in England,' so

107 1 that he was the owner of Swallowfield in 1071. He had a great

Breteuil, position, and was the originator of the Domesday Survey,^ but

Hereford joi^^'^g with his brother-in-law Raoul de Gael, Earl of Norfolk,

in a conspiracy against William Rufus in 1074-5, all his

* Ord. Vit. 840 ; Dugdale, Baronage^ 68.

^ De Gael, or Guader, also written Waycr and Waer.

' Petronel, wife of Robert de Beaumont, < Blanchemains,' 3rd Earl of Leicester, gave 40f. rent out of her mills at Bretvile for the performance of the anniversary for William de Breteuil, her son, a leper. (Dugdale.)

* Amicia, daughter of the 3rd Earl of Leicester, gave to the monks at Lyra one ounce of gold and 15J. sterling yearly * for the health of the soul of Will, de Bretvil, her brother.' (Dugdale.)

* * The Domesday Survey was ordered by William in a great council held at Christmas 1085 at Gloucester, when a Danish invasion was supposed to be immi- nent.* (Stubbs, Constitutional Hist, of England^ vol. i. p. 436.)

Swallowfield at the Conquest 7

possessions were forfeited to the King. Lingard says : * Roger 1074-5 FitzOsbern was convicted of treason, and sentenced, according to the Norman Code, to perpetual imprisonment and the loss of his property. His father's services indeed pleaded forcibly in his favour, but his proud and ungovernable temper disdained to ask for mercy.' Ordericus tells us that *when the King sent Roger FitzOsbern a valuable present of clothes he kindled a fire in his prison and burnt them ; ' they consisted of * a vest of silk, and a mantle, and a shorter cloak of the skins of martens,' which appears to have been the distinguishing dress of Earls at this time.' ^ Roger de Breteuil died in prison, leaving no lawful issue, but Dugdale says * he left two sons, Raynald and Roger, excellent soldiers under Henry, but neglected by him.^

The Domesday record states that in 1085 *Soanesfelt' and 1085

* Selingefelle * belonged to Gilbert de Breteuil, who appears as dc

* Gislebertus de Bretevile ' * in the list of under-tenants of lands '■®^^"" at that time.^ His name is, amongst those of the Conqueror's companions, cut in the stone of the cross at Dives, and it seems probable that he is identical with Gilbert Fitz-Turold,^ son of Turold of Pont Audemar, Torville, Torcy, etc. (Governor of William the Conqueror in his childhood), by his wife Weevia or

Eva, sister of Erfast the Dane. If this was the case, Gilbert de Breteuil was a cousin both of the Conqueror and of William FitzOsbern.

^ Ordericus, p. 322. 7. ' Dugdale's Baronage^ p. 68. * Forval, 536 A. ^ The name also appears in Domesday as * Breteuile ' (Hants, 52, and Wilts, 74 b, * Breteuille' (Oxf. 161), * Bretuile ' (Hants, 43 a).

* Sir Henry Ellis's General Introduction to Domesday Book^ ii. 298.

• Dugdale, quoting * The Monk of Worcester,* says : * Earl William of Hereford (FitzOsbern) took the town of Headsofrey, situate on the east of Wie, which doth of right belong to the monastery, and gave it to one Gilbert, his servant.' The town referred to appears in Domesday under * Gilbert, son of Turold'

Turold, Turaldus, Turolf, Touroude, Th^roulde, Turulp, or Thorold, was son of

S Swallowfield and its Owners

Besides owning Swallowfield, Gilbert de Breteuil held the neighbouring estate of Great Bramshill in Hants, from which Swallowfield is only separated by the river Blackwaten Domesday says : * Idem Gislebertus tenet Bromselle cum Manerio Regis de Swalfelle quod est in Berchesire.* ^ Sir William Cope, in his * History of Bramshill,' quotes as interesting the disclaimer of the Jurors of Great Bramshill of all dependence on the King's Manor of Swalfelle.

Gilbert de Breteuil also owned Strathfield Saye and Cholewarton in Hants, Clive and Thornelle ^ in Wilts, Hannay,^ Titherley, Danebridge, and lands in Oxfordshire, * which had been of the fee of Earl William,^ ^ and three houses in Southampton, of which the Conqueror granted him the customs.*

By the Domesday record we find that * Soanesfelt ' (or Swallowfield) was in 1085 accounted worth ;^8 and 6^/., and had 8 villains, 8 bordarii, 2 serfs, a mill of 50^/., a fishery of 40^/. ; 1 2 acres of pasture, wood for 20 pigs, and land for 7 ploughs.

* Selingefelle ' (or Shinfield) had 8 villains, 5 bordarii, 2 serfs, a mill of 55. and 150 eels, and 5 fishenes of 550 eels, 10 acres

Torf or Tork de Harcourt, by his wife Etemberga (or Ertemberga), daughter of Anslech (or Lancelot) de Briquebec, a noble of Danish extraction, who, it has been said, was the ancestor of the Russeils. Tork d' Harcourt was the ancestor of the Earl of Harcourt in England, the Due d' Harcourt in France, and last, not least, of Sir William Vernon Harcourt.

There were several Mayors of Oxford of the name of Thorald, living within a few years after the Conquest, who were great benefactors to the church, and we are told < there was sometime Thorald Hall, a very ancient place, and alwaies belonging to Oseney Abbey,' and a street in Oxford called Thorald or Turold Street.

^ Domesday^ Hants, f. 48 a.

^ *Thomhulle' in Wilts, and * Cholewarton * Hants, were set down as the fee of Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford.

^ This appears in Domesday as follows : * Terra Gisleberte de Bretevile.' In Wanctinz Hundred (Wantage) Gislebertus tenet Hannei, etc.

* Ey ton's Analysis of Dotnesday^ B. M. Add. MS. f. 130.

* Woodward's HantSy vol. ii. p. 166.

-VITH

Krfi

T Giffan.

f-rv.

arlofHc

r*',

Win tarl

I22G

'■hn.

Fl

Hill

riliy

ari

5:auchamps, e4 a^ith william;

Erfast or Herfest, * the D|

r GifEart, Lord of Longueville. •ery.

i

J.

* William Fitz-Osbeit

tarl of Hereford, Lord of Breteui . owned Swallowfield ; od. 1070-I

rt,

" " r :

Emma de B

Having joined the cnJ

Pope Urban, she d

the way to Jerusalej

I Ralph li

William Mauduit, \^\ of Warwick, 1220, d. 5. p. 1268.

= Alice, d. \ deSegcl

f

ohn.

jj-'larasted, sister and heir of Ro iomas de Leybourne ; she d. 1 3- ■ie Mortiiper.

rtimer.

'ars of Groby.

Swallowfield at the Conquest 9

of pasture, wood for 350 pigs, and land for 7 ploughs, then

valued at ;^8.

Gilbert de Breteuil was probably still holding Swallowfield in 1090

1090, for in the *Historia Monasterii de Abingdon' we have

a charter concerning the church at Sutton, dated 1090, which

begins : * Willelmus rex Anglorum Gilberto de Brittewilla et

omnibus fidelibus suis, Francigenis et Angligenis, de Berkescira

salutem.' ^

* Vol. ii. p. 26.

lo Swallowfield and its Owners

CHAPTER II

SWALLOWFIELD UNDER THE ST. JOHNS AND DESPENCERS

1 167 In 14 Henry IL the St. Johns held Swallowfield. Amongst the St. John Barons* Charters of 1 1 66-8 is one in which William de Newburgh, Earl of Warwick,^ says : * Swalewefeld and Silengesfeld, which should be my demesne, are held by Thomas St. John and his mother.* ^ This Thomas St. John was second son of John de St. John of Stanton-St. John, Oxfordshire, and grandson of William de St. John, the first of the name who came from Normandy to England.^ 1 167- 8 In the * Pleas of the Forest' of Alan de Neville,^ Chief

Justice of the Forests for the year 1 166-7, ^^ ^^^^ ^^^ Swale- feld and ShinningefFeld owe two marks, and in 1 167-8 that they render account of two marks and Thomas de St. John is pardoned two marks by the King's writ and he is quit.*

This was the result of the itinerant survey of the forests

^ William de Newburgh, third Earl of Warwick, was great nephew of Gilbert Fitz-Turold. He died 11 84.

^ Red Book of the Exchequer, folio ciiij, second column.

' Wace, in his Roman ele Rou^ mentions the men of St Johan as taking part in the battle of Hastings, and tradition says that the horse-hames or collars with which Lord Bolingbroke's supporters are charged perpetuate the iaxX that a St John had charge of the transport of the Normans.

^ Alan de NevUle was one of those distinguished for his hostility to the Primate (Becket), and was exconmiunicated by him in 11 66 at V^Iay. He died 2 Richard 11.

* Pipe Roll, 13 Hen. II.

Swallowfield under the St. Johns 1 1

which was ordered in 1167 * for the purpose of collecting the aid which Henry demanded for the marriage of his eldest daughter.' ^

Thomas de St. John succeeded his father as Lord of Stanton, and was himself succeeded by his son Roger de St. John. In 1 176 the said Roger was * assessed £\ZZ ^^* 8^- ^^^ trespassing 1176 in the King's Forests in Com. Oxon.' ^ St^ohn*

On Monday, July 25, 1205, King John visited Swallowfield, 1205 and again on Wednesday, May 3, 1206, he went there and 1206 * tested three charters to the bailiffs of Bath, and custodians of vacant bishoprics and tenants thereof respectively, the bishopric then being in the King's hands.' ^ It was not until the following year that the celebrated quarrel commenced between the Pope and the King of England about the right of election to vacant bishoprics. In 1205 Hubert Walter, the Archbishop of Canterbury, had died, and in December 1207 the Pope elected Stephen Langton. John refused to acknowledge him, and the dispute rose to such a height that in March 1208 the kingdom of England was placed under interdict and John was excommuni- cated.

Roger de St. John was succeeded in 12 16 by his son John 1216 de St. John, for whose wardship and marriage Geoffrey de Luci * st. John gave 300 marks and married him to his daughter.

John de St. John accompanied King Richard I. to the Holy Land, and was at the siege of Acre. He was one of the knights ^ whom the King, *on the inspiration of St. George, had dis- tinguished by tying a leathern thong or garter round the left leg

^ Princess Matilda, b. 11 56, married in 1167 Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony. ' Rot. Pip. 22 Hen. 1 1. Oxon. " Pat. 7 John.

* Geoffrey de Luci was son of the celebrated Richard de Luci, Justice of England. He died in his father's lifetime.

* Weever's Funeral Monuments^ 31S, 319.

12

Swallowfield and its Owners

1228

1230

1242

Thos. de New- burgh, 6th Earl of War- wick Geoffrey Le De- spencer

to incite the wearer to greater daring,' and this legend has been cited as the first institution of the Order of the Garter.^

In 1228 Roger deToeni died * near Reading,' most probably at Swalefeld, the Toeni or Toni family being intimately connected with its owners.^

Sir John de St. John died 1230,^ leaving a widow, Emma, and a son, Roger de St. John ; and this same year Geoffrey Le Despencer, Lord of Marcheley or Marteley, Worcestershire, married the said Emma, giving ;^'ioo for the wardship of her son Roger de St. John, the first and last Baron St. John of Stanton.^ Geoffrey Le Despencer was descended from Robert Le Despencer the Norman, who held the office of * Dispensator Regis,' Dis- pencer or Steward of the King. He was brother to Hugh Le Despencer, Chief Justice of England, first Baron Le Despencer, and he was uncle and great-uncle to Edward IL's favourites of that name.

In a Roll dated 1 242 * Swalewefeld ' is said to form part of one of the fees of Thomas de Newburgh, sixth Earl of Warwick, and this Record states that Geoffrey Despencer held half a fee in Swalfelde of the fee and honour of the Earl of Warwick, the Earls of Warwick holding Swallowfield of the Crown in chief as before.* This Earl of Warwick married Ela, daughter

^ Kennet, ParL Antiq, 149 ; Barnes's History of Edward III. p. 293.

^ Paris, p. 244, nos. 20, 30, and 41.

' John de St John confirmed divers lands to Oseney Abbey, which his father had given, and he and his wife were buried there on the north side of the presby- tery in a high large tomb of marble. The St. John arms were formerly in St- Frideswyde's Church, Oxford : argent on a chief gules, two mullets of six points, pierced or.

^ Rot. Pip. 14 Hen. III. Oxon.

* By Inquis. post mortem 31 Hen. III. no. 26 (1249) we find * Philippa Comitissa Warewici. De quanto deperiret ei si Galfridus Dispensarius et Emma uxor ejus quieti essent de secta ad hundredum de Bolenden.' (Roberts, Calendarium Genealogicum^ i. 16.)

Swallowfield under the Despencers 1 3

of William Longuespie, Earl of Salisbury (the son of *Fair Rosamond'), and the said Ela was a great benefactress to the monks at Reading.

Geoffrey Le Despencer died 1252,^ leaving his son John Le 12C2 Despencer, who succeeded to the possession of the * Castle of {^ £)c- Swalewefeld,' as it is called in a Roll of this date, and on July 10 spencer Emma, widow of Geoffrey Le Despencer, gave 400 marks for the custody of the said John Le Despencer, her son and heir, and of his lands.^

In 1253 Emma de St. John ' was appointed Lady in charge 1253 of Princess Katharine, youngest daughter of King Henry IIL, who was born on November 25 of that year, and at the Feast of the Circumcision we find the Queen* presented her with a brooch, and later on with a girdle of the value of 21J. and 2^., and to Dionisia, Damsel of Emma de St. John, also a brooch.

The little Princess was deaf and dumb, but of great beauty and idolised by her royal parents. She was christened with much pomp by Boniface, Archbishop of Canterbury, the Queen's uncle, who stood as sponsor, the infant Princess receiving the name of Katharine, having been born on St. Katharine's Day. The King gave a great feast in honour of the christening on St. Edward's Day, January 5, 1254, to which he invited all the 1254 nobility, including ^ Emma de St. John of Swalefeld and her son.* Amongst the provisions on this occasion were * fourteen wild boars, twenty-four swans, one hundred and thirty-five rabbits, two hundred and fifty partridges, fifty hares, two hundred and

* Visitation Northampton, (1617). • Close Roll 36 Hen. III. mem. 10.

' Notwithstanding that the said Emma had married for her second husband Geoflfrey Le Despencer, her name continues to appear as de St. John.

* Eleanor of Provence.

14 Swallowfield and its Owners

fifty wild duck, sixteen hundred and fifty fowls, thirty-six female geese, and sixty-one thousand eggs.^

Soon after this Queen Eleanor had to join the King in Gascony, and left her infant at Windsor, under the charge of Emma de St. John and two nurses, * Avisa ' and * Agnes.*

1255 Early in the next year the King and Queen returned to England, and by an order dated from Merton,^ April 2, gold clothes, with borders embroidered with the King's coat-of-arms, were to be made for the King to oflFer in Westminster Abbey for his daughter Katharine.^ In the autumn the little Princess became ill, and she was sent to Swallowfield under the care of Emma de St. John. For her amusement a young kid was brought thither from the King's forest at Windsor.^ The change seemed to benefit her for a time, but in the spring

1256 of 1256 she had a relapse. By the King's command, a report of her condition was sent to him by special messenger during his expedition to France, and when he heard of her convalescence he ordered that a * silver image made after the likeness of a woman ' should be placed in Westminster Abbey, as a votive oflTering,^ and the bearer of the news was given * a good robe.'

We also find orders for her expenses and for those of several children who were companions to the little Princess. Robert Russell, a confidential servant of the Queen, had charge of this expenditure. Notwithstanding, however, all the care bestowed upon her, the little Katharine died in 1258, aged

^ Rot. Claus. 33 Hen. III. no. 15 dorso.

* Mcrton, in Surrey, had once a celebrated abbey, to which the principal manor, which belonged to the Crown, was given by Hen. I., and in 1236 the great council was held there which passed the statutes of Merton.

* Rot. Claus. 39 Hen. III. no. 14. * Close Roll 39 Hen. III. pt. i. m. 5. ^ Rot. Claus. 40 Hen. III. m. 15.

Swallowfield tinder the Despencers 1 5

five years, to the great grief of her parents, the Queen becoming seriously ill at her death. The King presented the nurses with a present equal to ;^ 100 of our money. There was a magnifi- cent funeral, which cost £k^\ i2j. 4^/. The Princess was buried in the Ambulatory in Westminster Abbey, in the space between the chapels of King Edward and St. Benet, close to the tomb of her uncle William de Valence. A splendid monument was raised to her memory by the King, rich with serpentine and mosaics,^ and surmounted by a silver image of his child as St. Katharine, made by the King's goldsmith at the cost of 70 marks.^ The Hermit of Charing was paid fifty shillings a year as long as he lived, that he might support a chaplain to pray daily at the Chapel of the Hermitage for the soul of Katharine.

John Le Despencer (Emma de St. John's son by her first husband), being of full age in 1256, and holding £(}0 per annum in CO. Leicester, and £\^ per annum in co. Southampton, was 1256 called to receive the honour of knighthood.^ He married Joan, daughter of Robert de Lou.* No doubt he and his wife then lived at Swallowfield, and we find in a Close Roll 41 Henry IIL that permission was given for Emma, Lady of Sualewefeld, to dwell in Porchester Castle, and an order was issued for William

* Miss Kingsley, in her charming little book The Children of Westminster Abbey ^ says : ' Most of the mosaic has been picked out, but enough of it and the polished marbles exist to show the elaborate design of the upper slab, while on the wall above it, under a graceful trefoil-headed arch, are traces of gilding and colouring which are supposed to be remains of a painting of the Princess Catherine and two brothers who died in their infancy.*

^ There still exists an order to the King's treasurer to pay Master Simon de Wills five marks and a half for his expenses in bringing a brass image to be set on the tomb and for paying Simon de Gloucester.

'MS. Cotton Claud. 1. 2.

* The name Vis de Lou, Lu, or Lew occurs as owners of land in Berks from 1086 to the middle of the fourteenth century.

1 6 Swallowfield and its Owners

de Trubeville, Warden of the Casde, to answer to the Exchequer for the issues thereof.^

The last thing we hear of Emma de St. John is from the Tower Assize Rolls, which mentions under the heading * De Defaltis,' 1261, * Emma de Sancto Johanne/ Hundredum de Cherledone, 1256. This same year Sir John Le Despencer sent a petition to Pope Alexander IV., asking that he might build a chapel and keep a chaplain at his Manor of Swalefeld, pleading the dangers which he and his family had to encounter, in going through the forest to Mass at the Church of Sonning, from robbers in summer and floods in winter.^

Windsor Forest was formerly of much greater circuit than it is now, extending into Bucks and Surrey and over the whole of the south-eastern part of Berks as far as Hungerford. The circuit as described in Roques's map appears to be about fifty-six miles, including the whole parish of Swallowfield. The forest was a refuge for robbers, and at this time one Adam de Gurdon, a notorious freebooter, was the special terror of the neighbour- hood. He was born of gentle lineage, and had been the King's Bailiff at Alton in Hants. Henry III. gave him by charter * free charge of hares and foxes, in and without the forest ; * but, taking part with the rebel Barons, he was outlawed for treason and rebellion. He then appears to have taken to the road for his living, and to have gathered round him a number of men as fearless and desperate as himself, and became a sort of Robin Hood. Many tales savouring of romance are told of him, one being that Prince Edward (afterwards Edward I.), whilst attend- ing the Parliament at Winchester, heard of the fame of the

* Robert, Baron de St. John of Basing, was made Governor of Porchester Castle in 50 Hen. III.

' Rymer's Fcedera^ vol. i. p. 610.

Swallowfield under the Despencers 1 7

outlaw, and, fired with the desire of measuring swords with so brave a man, sought him out in the thicket and challenged him to fight. In a pause of the encounter which followed, the Prince offered him his life and advancement if he would give up his arms. The oflFer having been accepted,^ we find Adam de Gurdon shortly after holding oflScial employment. He ulti- mately became a great landowner, and from his second son is descended the present Gurdon of Letton.

Another desperado is mentioned as specially frequenting the

Forest in the neighbourhood of Reading at this time. A letter

addressed by the King to the Sheriff of Berks says that * Richard

Siward is lying in wait in Windsor Forest, cum muhitudine

I ^ armatorum^ and orders the Sheriff to attempt his arrest.^ And

a further letter to the Sheriff of Gloucester orders the arrest of the same Richard Siward for having surprised the Justiciar's baggage between Reading and Wallingford.

The state of the Forest being such as described, it is no wonder that Sir John Le Despencer should have been unwilling to traverse it with his family. The Pope granted his petition, and issued two Bulls from Anagni addressed to the Bishop of Salisbury, in whose diocese Swallowfield was then situated. Copies of these Bulls have been preserved.^

' The story goes that Prince Edward took him to Guildford Castle and introduced him to his bride, Eleanor of Castile, and that he and she entreated the King to pardon him.

* Prince Edward hath brought him to Guildford Tower, Ere that summer's day is o'er, He hath led him into the secret bower Of his wife, fair Eleonore.

His mother, the ladye of gay Provence,

And his sire, the King, were there ; Oh, scarcely the Gordon dare advance

In a presence so stately and fair.'

' Rot. Claus. 18 Hen. III. memb. 25 tn dorso,

' Rymer's Fcedera^ vol. i. part 2. See also Appendix.

C

1 8 Swallowfield and its Owners

Armed thus with Papal authority, Sir John Le Despencer, in 1256, built the church of All Saints, which, restored in 1869-70^ by Sir Charles Russell, now stands in Swallowfield Park.^ The style of architecture, however, of some parts of the edifice indi- cates a much earlier date than 1256. The east end, which contained the three narrow lights that we see there now, and the * bull's-eye ' above, as well as the north and south doors, belong to the style prevalent at least a century earlier, and would give a date from 11 20 to 11 50. It seems, therefore, probable that the remains of a ruined church of anterior date may have been used by John Le Despencer in building the present one. The architect employed for the restoration, Mr. Morris, of Reading, with excellent taste, has carefully preserved these earlier portions and brought them out as fine features. A window in the chancel is of the fifteenth century, and of the * Middle Pointed * or Decorated style. The timber belfry is a rare specimen of its kind, probably of the date of John Le Despencer, as also the beams and older parts of the roof. The south porch is modern, but has a good barge-board with * Perpendicular ' mouldings, the pattern like * Decorated ' work (J. H. Parker). Originally there must have been two altars, a high altar screened oflT by a close screen where the present one stands, and another in front of the screen, as indicated by the ancient piscina still existing in the wall.

During the restoration, some remains, supposed to be those of Sir John Le Despencer, were discovered about half- way between the south door and the chancel screen, in a

^ The church had been so disfigured by lath and plaster, and its beauties so entirely hidden by the bad taste of former restorations, that at first it was doomed to be pulled down. It was saved by Charles Kingsley, who first suggested to Sir Charles Russell to try and restore it.

" See Appendix.

Swallowfield under the Despencers 1 9

stone coffin surmounted by a large flat cross. The skeleton was quite perfect, but the head was separate and outside the coffin, which evidently had previously been disturbed. A quantity of cloves were found surrounding the body, and the remains of a wooden dish, which had probably held salt, rested on the breast. The lid was carefully refixed and cemented, and the coffin was placed in its present position under the west window.

Sir John Le Despencer, as well as Roger de St. John, joined the Barons in the great civil struggle against Henry III., and they both attended the celebrated Council summoned at Oxford in 1258, commonly known as *the Mad Parliament.' 1258

Sir John Le Despencer and his young son Adam, early in the year 1264, formed part of the force left by Simon de 1264 Montfort to hold Northampton, which was taken by the following stratagem : — The garden of a Cluniac monastery abutted on the walls of the town, and the monks, many of whom were French and on the King's side, undermined the walls, putting wooden props as a temporary support. By this means the Royalists made, an easy entrance, whilst a feigned assault was made on the other side of the town. Sir John Le Despencer and his son were taken prisoners, and placed in the custody of Reginaldus Waterwill ; ^ but three months later, after the victory at Lewes, they were released * by the King's writ to Roger de Mortimer, who was ordered to bring them among other prisoners to London to be set at liberty.' ^ Roger de St. John was summoned to Parliament on December 24, 1264, as Baron St. John of Stanton-St. John, and he was appointed Governor of Oxford.

Early the following year (1265), Eleanor, wife of Simon de 1265

' Brady ; Paris ; Rishanger, De Bellis ; Ann Dunst. 229. ' Brady, p. 643 ; Rymcr's FaderOy vol. i. p. 20.

C 2

20 Swallowfield and its Owners

Montfort, sent from her demesne of Odiham Gistle, Hants, a present of wine * to the lady of Swalfelde.' We find this in the curious Household Roll of this royal lady, who was the daughter of King John by his wife Isabella of Angoul^me and widow of William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke. The Roll, still preserved in the British Museum, is believed to be the earliest known memorial of the domestic expenditure of an English subject. The entry is as follows : * Vinum ij sext. dimid. missum Dominae Swalfelde.' This lady must be Joan, daughter of Robert de Lou, wife of John Le Despencer.

In 1265 Roger de St. John was killed at the battle of Evesham, his estates were confiscated, and * Swaluefelde and one 1265 messuage and one carucate of lands in Beaumys with woods and ^^y rents and all appurts ' were granted to Roger de Leybourne, and bourne in Charter Roll 49 Hen. III. we read that * only a messuage in Beaumys remained the property of Sir John Le Despencer.* The latter died in 1274. In an inquisition taken in 1276 the Jurors, say that * John Dispensator has made encroachments in the viU of Shenyngefeld ' {i.e. has enclosed three tenements).^ By an inquisition taken the next year at Gertre, co. Leicester, he was found to have died possessed of the Manor of Beransby and the moiety of Wigan-<ie-la-Mare and several other lands, as also the Hundred of Beaumaner, held of Hugh de Spencer in socage and of the house and park there. And by another inquisition, taken at his house at Marteley in com. Wigom, he is said to have died possessed of that manor with the advowson of the church, which his father had by gift of Henry III. In right of his first wife, Joan, daughter of Robert de Lou, Sir John Le Despencer also possessed Gistle Carlton and Cavenby, co. Lincoln, but his wife dying childless, these manors went, at his death, to

* Inq. p. m. 3 Ed. I. No. 2.

Swallowfield under the Despencers 21

her cousin, John de Merieth.^ By Anne, his second wife, Sir John had two sons : Adam Le Despencer,^ who died young, and William Le Despencer, styled * of Belton.' The latter resided at DefFord (com. Wigorn) and died in 1328.^ From him arc said to have descended Earl Spencer, the Earl of Westmoreland, and the Duke of Marlborough, but of this the proof appears incomplete.

The nanie of Spencer still survives in the parish of Swallow- field, both amongst the people and also in the villajge called * Spencer's Wood.'

The following is a descriptive catalogue of ancient deeds relating to Swallowfield in the time of the Despencers : * —

(i) Release by William Le Mire* to Sir John le Despenser A 4697 (despensatori) of all his rights in meadow land in the Manor of Scheperugge.^ Witnesses Gilbert le Blunt, Nicholas de Didenham,^ John de Lodewell.

(2) Grant by Thomas Paterick to Hugh Le Despenser of a A 4705 yearly rent from land in Sheperugge by the road leading to the

' Merieth, also written Meriet and Meryot.

'In 1265 Adam le Despencer obtained quittance for all money owing to Jews.

• Inq. p. m. 3 Ed. I. No. 2.

* This catalogue was kindly furnished by Miss Sharp of Ufton, who came across it in making researches for her most interesting work, The History of Ufton Court

^ Le Mire is another form of de Mora and means ' of the Moor.' ^ Scheperugge is spelt in a variety of ways : Sheperugg, Sheprugge, Seperig, Sceperig, Cheperigge, Siprugge, Sheprige, about 1500 as Shipbridge, in 1807 as Shipridge, now generally called * Sheepsbridge.' It is at the present time the pro* perty of Henry Hunter, Esq., of Beechhill, and there is still on it an interesting old house with a moat, now turned into a farmhouse. In 1482 ^Sheperygge Magna' passed from Peter Marmyon to Walter Stonore, Kt (Rot Claus. 22 Edw. IV. m. 27).

^ Didenham, in Shinfield, also passed in 1482 from Peter Marmyon to Walter Stonore, and in i $03 was held by Sir William Capel. Arthur, Lord Capel, sold it to Thomas Woodcock, who lived there.

22 Swallowfield and its Owners

ford of Stanford. Witnesses, Sir Gilbert le Blount, John Berd, Alan de Stanford, Sec.

»27i (3) Conveyance by Alyhiva Cheke and Robert Paterick

to Sir John Le Despencer of meadow land in the moor of Scheperugge for ten years from Hokeday 55 Hen. III. (1271). Witnesses, Gilbert le Blunt, Nicholas de Dideham, Alan de Stanford, &g.

A 4715 (4) Release by William Berd of Scheperyg to Sir John Le

Despencer, his lord, of land in the meadow of * La More ' of Scheperyg, with certain water ; for which Sir John has given to William part of a meadow at Lethennardesyate {sic) and a mark. Witnesses, Gilbert le Blund, Walter le Fraunkelyn, Thomas de Cheyne, &c.

A 4717 (5) Release by Walter, son of Nicholas the clerk of Seperig,

to Sir John Le Despencer, Kt., his lord, of all the meadow which he used to have in * la More,' in Seperig, for which Sir John has given to him 3J. and part of a croft in Seperig in exchange. Witnesses, Sir John de sancto Johanne, William Berd, Thomas de Cheney, Sec.

A 4728 (6) Release by Robert, son of Eadmund de Sceperig, to

Sir John Le Despencer, his lord, of the land with a messuage which Robert held from John. Witnesses, Sir William de Say, Adam de Sancto Manovino, Nicholas de Didenham, &c.

A 4729 (7) Grant by Thomas le Blund, Lord of Cheperigge, to

John Le Despenser, son and heir of Sir Geoffrey Le Despenser, of land at Kingesbrige, adjoining the water coming from the monks at Stratfelde.^ Witnesses, Sir Henry de Herlee,^

^ At Stratfield Say, Nicholas de Stoteville founded a cell of Benedictine monks under a Prior in 1 1 70. The cell was in Berkshire, but the parish in Hampshire. (Camden.)

* Earley, in the Hundred of Charlton, a few miles from Swallowfield. The family of de Erlegh was originally seated in Somersetshire. The first we

Swallowfield under the Despencers 23

William de Say/ John de Tredhorn, Robert de .Sindes- ham,^ &c.

(8) Grant by Thomas le Bedel ^ to William de la Wifaude ^ A 4742 of all his meadow in the moor of Siprugge, between the running water of the monks of Stratfelde and the meadow called *Brodemed/ Witnesses, William Berd, Alan de Stanford, John Alein, &c.

(9) Release by Alvina Cheke to Sir John Le Despenser A 4841 of all the water and fishery between the fishery of John Berd

and the bridge of Sheperugge moor. Witnesses, Nicholas de Didenham, William de la Wifaude, Alan de Stanford, John Alewy, &c.

hear of in Berks was John de Erlegh in 1 195, father of the above-mentioned John and Henry de Herlee. In 1231 Henry de Erlegh paid 20 marks for the scutage of the lands which John his brother (whom he succeeded) had held of the King as tenant in capiu at Erlegh or Earley. Maiden Erleigh and Erleigh Court are in this parish. Bartholomew Earley appears in a Subsidy Roll, Berks, 39 Eliz.

^ John de St John's son married Katherine de Say, daughter of Geoffrey Lord Say.

^ Sindlesham. * Or the bailiff.

* Wyvols, near Swallowfield, was originally called * Wyfaud ' or * Wyfolds,' and there is Wyfolds near Reading.

24 Swallowfield and its Owners

CHAPTER III

SWALLOWFIELD REVERTS TO THE ST. JOHNS

1265 Baron Roger de Leybourne, to whom Swallowfield was granted del^y- in 1265, was son of Robert de Leybourne or Leiburn, who bourne ^j^^ j^ Rich. I. He had been, as we have seen, on the side of the Barons, and, in consequence, was one of those prohibited by royal precept to meet at any tournament without special licence, and he was also excommunicated by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

However, not long after, being * drawn ofF by rewards,* as was said, he forsook the Barons and fought for the King. In some MS. political songs of the thirteenth century, he is thus alluded to by a contemporary :

And Sir Roger de Leybourne, Who here and there would turn To conquer, kill, and burn ; Prince Edward had harassed him sore, So now he tried hard to restore His loss and something more.

After the battle of Evesham, when the King recovered his power, Roger de Leybourne was made Warden of all the Forests beyond Trent, as also Sheriff of Cumberland, Warden of the Cinque Ports, and Sheriff of Kent. He also obtained a grant of the lands of Adam Le Despencer, including * one mes-

Swallowfield reverts to the St. Johns 25

suage and one carucate of land in Beaumys, with woods and rents and all its appurts, besides the Manors of Berton, Swaluefelde, and Stanton, which were of Roger de St. John, rebel.' ^ 1270

In 54 Henry III., Roger de Leybourne was * signed with the cross,' in order that he might accompany Prince Edward to the Holy Land, but he died before he accomplished the journey, in 1272 56 Henry III.

Some accounts say that Roger de Leybourne was married three times, his first wife being Alionore, daughter of Stephen de Turnham ; his second, Alionore, daughter of William Ferrers, Earl of Derby, and widow of Roger de Quenci, Earl of Win- chester ; and the third, Idonea, daughter of William de Vipont ; but it appears probable that the latter was his daughter-in-law, and that his only wife was Alionora Ferrers, who died before 1274.

Roger de Leybourne left a son William, who had, says Dugdale, * livery of part of the lands of his inheritance,' but Swalefeld, as well as Barton and Stanton, reverted at his death to John St. John St. John of Lageham, nephew to John St. John of Stanton. Lageham

From an inquisition taken in 1276, we obtain the names of 1276 John de St. John's tenants in Swallowfield at that date. They are as follows :

Osmund Algar,^ holds i acre. Simon le Fraunklyn ^ „ i acre.

1 Charter Roll, 49 Hen. III.

' Algar, no doubt the same as Elgar, which occurs at Kintbury about 1600, and as ' Ilger.' Richard Ilger or Illeger was bailiff at Swallowfield in 1353.

' A ' franklein ' was a sort of yeoman freeholder. * Franklyn ' was the name of a family who possessed Borstall in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and we find mention there of two ^ Simon Fraunklins.' About 1 276 Walter le Fraunkelyn was witness to a release of Sir John Le Despenser at Swallowfield. In 1301 John le Fraunkelyn of Swalewefield was pardoned for the death of John de la Grave of Swalewefield, by reason of his services in the Scotch war. A *■ Christian ffranklin ' was buried at Swallowfield in 1588.

26 Swallowfield and its Owners

Henry de Mora ^ holds i acre.

Crictiana de Mora ^ » i acre.

John Wickrig „ 2 acres,

William Wickrig „ \ acre.

Richard le Somel „ i rood.

Nicholas Aleyn ^ „ \ acre.

Thomas Edred „ i rood.

Walter Pelliparius ^ „ \ acre.

Richard Vulrich* „ i acre.

Alice Tedrick „ \ acre.

John Gold.^ „ i rood.

Five of these names, Algar, Wickrig, Edret(d), Tedrick, and Gold, appear in the list of under-tenants of lands in Berks at the time of Edward the Confessor.

^ Henry and Crictiana de Mora clearly took their name from a tract of land in Swallowfield which is called in various ancient deeds during the occupation of the Despencers * La Mora,' * La More/ ' the Moor,' and * Scheperugge Moon* And we find both names occurring at Swallowfield or in the neighbourhood for some centuries. In 1281 we find in the < Calendar of Letter Books' that * Walter le Veyre de Osprenge, whilst living with a certain Will, le Burgogne, enticed a certain Cristiana, wife of Will, de la More, to the society of the aforesaid Will., his master, so that whilst the said Cristiana was away from her husband, the said Walter took and carried away goods belonging to Will, de la More to the value of J[Jbo. In 1496 an inquisition tells us that Nicholas More and Joan, his wife, had the manor of Alington in Hants, and devised it and others to Christine More, late the wife of Henry More, with remainder to Nicholas and Philip More, sons of Henry. In 1 543 * Chrystin More ' was paid * for syngyng in the quere for a year at St. Giles's Church, Reading, xi s. iiii d.' which appears in the churchwarden's accounts. And a ' Christiana More married Hugh Keyte or Keat'

Amongst the Mayors of Reading appear in 141 8 the name ' Rob. Mores or Morris ;' in 1422, Robt Morris jun. ; in 1433, Robert Mores ; 1441, Robt. Morys. The name * Morris ' is well known and very highly respected in Reading at the present day.

^ 'John Alein' appears in a deed temp. Hen. III. relating to Swallowfield. It still exists there under the form of Allen.

* Pelliparius would mean the skinner or furrier.

^ In an assessment, 1327, under 'Villa de Wokingham,' appears the name ' Wills. Wolnrich.'

^ A Richard Gold had land at Streatley in 12 14. In 1385 Will. Gold was yeoman of the chamber.

Swallowfield reverts to the St. Johns 27

The * Minister's Accounts ' ^ give us some interesting details 1280-3 of the expenses incurred, from 1280 to 1283, for the churches of * Shenyngefelde and Swalfelde,* under the account of Osbert le But,^ proctor and bailiff of Sir Adam de Stratton,^ the rector.

Twelve pounds of wax bought for processional tapers for the two churches, 55. (>d. ; price per lb. ^\d. 1,100 shingles* for the chancel of Swalfelde, 6^. 5^/. ; price per hundred, ^d. In re- covering the said chancel with the same, 35. 2^^/., the hundred for 3^^. Carpenter mending the same chancel for three days, 9^. For repairing the houses of the Chaplain of Swalefelde, 1 3 J. 4//.

In the accounts from 1283 to 1286, we find the same amount 1283-6 charged for the wax tapers; 2,100 shingles for the chancel of Swalfelde, at ^\d, per hundred ; shaping and laying the same, 7^., at 4^/. the hundred ; 500 nails for the same, 7^^. Mending part of the chancel, 2i. id. Timber bought for the Grange of Swalefelde, 15^. 3^. Carriage of the same timber bought at Fynchamstede and Highfelde, 3^. Carpentry for the same house, 2 8 J. Rods bought for walling, 4J. (i\d. Doing the walling of the same, 3^. Straw bought for covering, %s. ^d. Covering or thatching the same house, 65. ^d. ; 600 laths bought for the walls, 7^^. ; 2,500, i2\d. Digging earth for the walls, ^d. Plastering the walls, y. id.

On the back of the account of Osbert le But, bailiff, from 1286 90 Michaelmas 1290,* is noted as follows : Sum of money delivered, ^^191 ijs. 6d., whereof from the men of Reading i mark

' Record Office Mitdster^s Accounts^ if^,

' The name ' Butts' appears in the Visit of Berks in 1566, and also in 1664-6.

' Stratton of Kingston Lisle, Berks, in Berks Visit. 1664-6.

* * '* Shingles,'' in building, small pieces of wood, or quartered oaken boards, cleft to about an inch thick at one end, and made like wedges four or five inches broad, and eight or nine long, used instead of tiles or slates, especially for churches and steeples.' Encyclofxxdia Britatu vol. xvii.

* Minister's Accounts^ ^- in dorso.

23 Swallowfield and its Owners

{i.e. ly. 4^/.), from Robert de Shorteforde 9^. 4^., from Rob the Chamberlain ^ is. 10^., from Henry de Stodham 4J. Sum of the King's tenth, ^^s. id.

1 29 1 About the year 1291, Pope Nicholas set on foot a taxation

of all the Papal dominions, and in the Valuation made for this purpose the following occurs : * Sarum Dine, Arched. Berk., Ecclia de Schaningefelde & Swallfelde, £10 Pensio Abb: de Lyra in eadem £2.^ Swalefeld was thus valued at £20^ the tithe of which of course would be £2. In the original document there is a mark appended to identify Swalefelde with Swalewefeld, as it was called in 1242.

1294 John de St. John, in 1294, gave to St. Ethelbert's, Hereford,

* for the good of his soul,' the advowson of the Church of

* Shingefeld ' and the Chapel of * Swalowefelde.' ^

1299 In 1299 William de Beauchamp died, and his son Guy de

U^u. * Beauchamp, second Earl, held Swallowfield of the Crown in chiefs

EM^of *^ before, though John de St. John was the actual owner.

Warwick This same year John de St. John was summoned to Parliament

as Baron St. John of Lageham. He was a prominent character in the

reign of Edward I. and was actively engaged in the Scottish wars.

He was entrusted with the care of Edward of Carnarvon,^ the first

Prince of Wales, and was appointed to instruct him in the duties

^ The name * Chamberlain ' often appears in the early part of the Swallowfield parish registers, which commence in 1 539.

^ * Decanus et capitulum ecclie beati Ethelbti Hereford finem fecerunt cum Rege in quinquaginta marcis pro habenda ecclesia de Shenynfeld Sarisbiriensis diocesis cum capella de Swalefeld eidem ecclie.' (Ro. 14.)

' Inq. p. m. 9 Ed. II. No. 71 ; Guy, 2nd Earl of Warwick, died 131$.

* The yoimg prince had just recovered from smallpox, having been treated by Gaddesden, the court physician, whose * Rosa Anglorum ' is said to be the earliest notice of medical practice on record. The doctor, describing his treatment, says : ' I ordered the prince to be enveloped in scarlet cloth, and that his bed and all the furniture of his chamber should be of a bright red colour, which not only cured him but prevented him being marked.' He adds that he treated the sons of the noblest houses in England with the red system, and made good cures of all. ,

Swallowfield reverts to the St, Johns 29

of a soldier. At the siege of Carlaverock, captured by Edward I. "3<» in 1300, John de St. John, we are told, was everywhere with Prince Edward, who led the 4th Squadron, John de St. John having on ^ all his white caparisons upon a red chief, two gold mullets.' ^

In May, 1300, three persons were appointed in every county of England for the better observance of Magna Charta, and the Forest Charter of Henry III., and to enforce the Statute of Winchester. They were to hear complaints, to judge and to punish without the delay allowed at the common law. The first of the three persons appointed for Oxfordshire was

* John de Sancto Johanne of Lageham,* and in October of the following year he was one of the three appointed to assess ' the 1301 fifteenth,* lately granted to the King, and to tax, levy, and pay it.

In 1306 we find John de St. John's name associated with 1306 Roger de Inglefield and William Plukenet amongst those who,

* by common consent granted by the King and the Earls and Barons,* were to accompany the King and his son in another Scotch expedition, and in 1307 we hear of John de St. John 1307 advancing with 15,000 horsemen to oppose an inroad of the Scots. The English were, however, attacked and dispersed by Edward Bruce, to which Sir Walter Scott alludes in * The Lord of the Isles ' :

* When fiery Edward routed stout St. John-.'

That same year King Edward I. died, but John de St. John continued to fight for Edward II.

After the defeat at Bannockburn, the English were hardly able to defend their own frontiers against Robert Bruce, and in 131 5 the Baron de St. John * received command to be at 13^5

^ Nicholas, Siege of Carlaverock,

30 Swallowfield and its Owners

Newcastle-upon-Tyne, well fitted with horse and arms to

restrain the incursions of the Scots.' 1 316 The following year he died * seized of the Manor of

Beau- Swalefeld,*^ the young Thomas de Beauchamp, third Earl of 3rd Earl Warwick, who had succeeded his father the year previous, being of War- the lord in chief.

wick

An inquisition was taken there in July, the following being given as the possessions of * John St. John senior of Lageham, in Berks ' : —

* The Manor of Swalefeld with the appurtenances of the heir of the Earl of Warwick, who is under age,^ and in custody of the King, by service of half a knight's fee.

* And there is there one capital messuage with a garden, and' they are worth los. per annum.

* And there are there 80 acres of land, which are worth per annum 40J. ; the price of an acre, (>d.

* And 170 acres of land, and they are worth per annum 5 6 J. %d. \ price of acre, 41/.

* And there are there 2a| acres of meadow, which are worth per annum 30J. 9^. ; price of an acre, i %d.

* And there are there 44 acres of pasture, which are worth per annum lu. ; price of an acre, 3^.

* And there is there a park where the pasture and pannage are worth per annum 40^.

* And there is there a watermill, which is worth per annum looj.

* And there is there a certain several fishery, which is worth per annum 30i.

*And there are there 24 free tenants, and they pay per

' Inq. p. m. 10 Ed. II. No. 74.

' Thomas de Beauchamp, 3rd Earl of Warwick, aged two at his father's death in 1315.

Swallowfield reverts to the St. Johns 31

annum io8i. dd. at the four principal terms, in equal portions ; and there are there 22 customary tenants, and each holds half a virgate of land, and they pay per annum in rent {de redditu) £(> %s. 6d. at the four principal terms, in equal portions, and their works are worth per annum 64J. 2d. at three times of the year ; viz. at the feast of St. Martin 1 1 j., at the Annunciation of the Blessed Mary 9J. 2^/., and at the feast of St. Michael 44J. Also ten other customary tenants, of whom each holds the fourth part of one virgate of land, and they pay per annum 40J. * Also there are 2 8 cotters, who pay per annum 6oi. The pleas and perquisites are worth per annum loj.'^

^ * Nomina Villanixn,' 9 Ed. II.

32 Swallowfield and its Owners

CHAPTER IV

LATER ST. JOHNS AND THEIR TENANTS

1316 John de St. John, first Baron dc St, John, was succeeded

Baron de in 1316 by his son- John, second Baron de St. John, who was

de Lagc- ^pwards of forty years of age, and was summoned to Parliament

ham from August 1st, 1317, to September, 1322. This same year

he and his wife Margeria de Gyse are plaintiffs and Beatrix de

Gyse deforciant in respect of the Manor of Swalfelle, and he,

by fine, rendered this Manor to Beatrix, and she rendered it

back to him and Margeria.^

We find in the book of John Chandler, Dean of Salisbury 1320 (141 5), that in 1320 the then Dean of Salisbury * visited the Church of Sonnyne (Sonning) with the Chapel of Schenningfield and Swalefeld, and at the same time Roger de Mortival, Bishop of Sarum, endorsed at Sonning a Bull of Pope John XXIL, granting the great tithes of the parishes of Shinfield and Swallow feld for the repairs of Hereford Cathedral. The grant runs thus : —

* Grant of the Parish Church of Scenigfeld (Shinfield), value ^20, with the Chapel of Swallefelde, in the Diocese of Salisbury, for the rebuilding of the Cathedral so long as the work shall last.' Twenty-eight thousand marks having been spent on the superstructure, the whole threatened to fall. And there was

* Feet of Fines, Berks, 10 Ed. II. No. 3-

Later St. Johns and their Tenants 33

issued a notice * to penitents who contribute to the rebuilding of Hereford Cathedral, relaxation of sixty days of enjoined penance.' This same year the Pope wrote a letter to Henry de Schorne,^ Rector of Seehenefeld in the diocese of Salisbury, and Canon and Prebendary of Hereford, living in the Roman Court, concerning his non-residence in Berkshire. He has concession to retain the canonry and prebend as well as the fruits of the rectory. He is to restore half the procurations received, and to pay one year's fruits of the rectory (Shinfield and Swallowfield) to the Holy Land Subsidy.

John, second Baron de St. John, died i6th June, 1322, 1322 leaving Margery his wife,^ and John his son and heir, aged Baron de fifteen,^ and we find that Master John Walewyn, Escheator ofLage- beyond Trent, is given orders not to intermeddle further with ^^"^ the Manor of Swalefelde, and to restore the issues thereof, as the King learns by inquisition that John de Sto. Johanne of Lageham and Marjory his wife, who were enfeoffed thereof jointly, held the manor on the day of John's death to theirs and John's heirs by surrender of Beatrice de Gyse by fine levied in the King's court, and that the manor is held by knight service of the Earl of Warwick, a minor in the King's wardship. And the King assigned dower to the said Marjory upon her taking oath not to marry without the King's license.*

By the inquisition taken at Swallowfield on Thursday, 1 6th June, 1323, we learn that when the second Baron St. John 1323 died he held nothing of the King in capite in co. Berks. He

* Scheme or Shomes of Kent.

' In Common Pleas, de Banco Roll, 17 Ed. II. (1324), there is a case in which * Cecilia, who was the wife of John de Sancto Johanne of Lageham, demands against Margeria de Gyse the third part of the Manor of Swalewefeld with appurts, as her dower. Said Margeria appears and says that said Cecilia ought not to have dower, because she was never lawfully married to aforesaid John. Case adjourned.'

' Inq. p. m. 16 Edw. II. No. 62. * Close Roll 17 Ed. II. m. 38.

D

34 Swallowfield and its Owners

held in his demesne, as of fee, the manor of Swalefeld of the heir of the Earl of Warwick,^ &c., ut supra. Jury say the capital messuage with the curtilages is worth nothing but the refusal. An extent was then taken of it, which gives us the following :

* Rent from the free tenants £ 1 1 45. 6 J^., which was paid at the feasts of St. John the Apostle, the Annunciation of the Blessed Mary, St. John the Baptist, and St. Michael.

* Rent of wrifs and cotters (esterallon) per annum £6 yj. 3^. paid at the feast of St. John the Apostle (38J. 7^. and i lb. of pepper and i lb. of cummin), the Annunciation, St. John the Baptist, and St. Michael (^4f and one ploughshare).

* Also the works of the customary tenants per ann. 33J. 9^. ; 180 acres arable land per ann. 50J. ; 30 acres meadow per ann. 155.

* Park enclosed, with underwood and pasture, per ann. 30J.* ,323 In 1323 the Dean and Chapter of Hereford paid a fine of

five marks to Edward II. for the license of appropriating and anvening the Chapelry of Swalefeld with the Church of J 327 Shenygefeld, in the diocese of Sarum, and in 1327 a commission and* mandate was issued to confirm the grant made by the Chapter of Hereford to Adam, Bishop of Worcester, sometime Bishop of Hereford, for his life, of the Church of Schynfeld and Chapel of Swalefeld, in the diocese of Salisbury, value jS2o, in consideration of the labours undertaken by Bishop Adam in the canonisation of St. Thomas, late Bishop of Hereford. This same year, which was the first year of King Edward III.'s reign, a tax was levied called the * Taxation of the 20th,' granted to the King by the Parliament, and consisted of the twentieth of the value of all the movable goods of every person except the

^ Thomas de Beauchamp) 3rd Earl, born 1313,

Later St. Johns and their Tenants 35

clergy. The Assessments for Berkshire, which are still to be seen in the Record Office, were made before Henry de Pentelawe and William de Sparsholte, and are as follows :

Hundred

Galf atte Beche viij. iiii^. Johe de Ynemdon \vs. \\\d. Johe de Welder vj, ii^. Willo de Saltt \\s. Stepho atte Twychen viij. Andro Willi xiii^. Johe de Okham vij. xi^/. Johe atte Beche xxi^/. John Mathew vi^. \d. Walto Poydras xii^. Bartho atte Lane iiii^.

of Sonning.

Johne Passelow vid.

Henry atte Msshe (Marsh) xii^.

Johne le Clerk iiis, \\d.

Edwardo le Conk v\d.

Willo le Hert vid.

Johne Boiling v\d.

Thoma Symod (Symonds) y\d.

Johne Archewode y\d.

Gouild Stepnes \ys. ivd.

Johne atte fForde vid.

Villa de fVokingham.

Bartho atte Folde v\s. y\\d. Willo Ffrende vnd.

Thoma le Mestr vid.

Agn atte Moure \\d. Willo MiUit Yixd. Johne le Bedel xvi^. Gilbto Gerad V\d. Rico Mannyg v\d. Johne de Sucheye \\s, \\\d. Alica Syward v\d. Willo Adam y\d. Johe atte Hurne y\d. Johe atte StonhuU ms. v\d.

Alex atte Leghe vs. ivd. Willo atte Brout iiiij. ii^, Willo Wolnrich ^ xvrnd. Stepho le Kinch xviiid. Rg. Frendwyne xii^. Willo du Standryche xiid. Johe Seger xii^. Johne de Sucheye xviiid. Johne Howelles vid.

Sma. ciij. id. P.B. (Pro- batur).

1 (

Vulrich* appears in list of tenants at Swallowfield in 1276.

D 2

36 Swallowjield and its Owners

John, third Baron de St. John, was summoned to Parlia- 1327 ment from 1327 to 133 1, and in 5 Edward III., * making proof I332 of his age, had livery of his lands.* ^

Though Baron de St. John was the Manorial Lord of '333 Swallowfield, it was held in 1333 by Sir John de Ifeld (or Ifield), d^Sf^id^ and he was the principal person taxed at * Swalughfeld * and * Schenygfehl ' in that year, viz. at 20J.^

Sir John de Ifeld was originally called John Aleyn de Ifield.^ He married^ before 1304, Marjory, daughter and heiress of Sir Henry de Apuldrefield,^ of Westerham, Kent, by his wife Isolda de Grey. She brought him in marriage Apuldrefield, Broxham, and Sundrish, and he had many other possessions.

In 1320, Sir John de Ifield and his wife Marjory had been enfeoffed in the Manor of Lageham by John Baron St. John for their joint lives, with remainder to their daughter Katharine.®

^ Rot. Fin. 5 Edward III. m. 23. ' Lay Subsidy Rolls, Co. Berks, No. V.

' The name ' Aleyn' was probably the same as < FitzAlain.' In 1258 Bartholo- mew and Matilda de Moriston give Hen. de Appeltrefeld the homage and all the services of Simon FitzAlain of Sundrish, and after the decease of Henry's successor, Sir Henry de Apuldrefield, the manor of Broxham remains with * John Aleyn de Ifeld.'

In 1362 John Aleyn was instituted Canon of Windsor. In 1559 Simon Aleyn was Canon of Windsor. This was the celebrated Vicar of Bray who was the origin of the sole (according to Fuller) proverb of the co. of Berks, ue, * The Vicar of Bray will be Vicar of Bray stiU.' He lived under Hen. VIII., Ed. VI., Q. Mary, and Elizabeth, and was first a Papist, then a Protestant, then a Papist, then a Protestant again. When taxed with being a ' turncoat,' he replied, < Not so, for I always keep my principle, which is this, to live and die the Vicar of Bray.'

* Vincent's MSS. in Coll. Arms lo p. 8, and MS. Coll. Arms H. 2 ff. 36.

^ Apuldrefield, also written Apeltrefeud, Appeltrefeld, Apeldorefeld, and now Apeldore.

** John de Latimer died seised of Norbrith in Godstow, which he held of John de Ifield and Margery his wife as of the manor of Lageham, which was the right of inheritance of John, son and heir of John de St. John of Lageham. Inq. p. m. 10 Ed. in. No. 15.

Later St. Johns and their Tenants 2>1

Sir John held many judicial appointments in Kent, Sussex, and Surrey. There is a long account of his services and offices in Nichols's * Topographer and Genealogist/

By his wife Margery, Sir John de Ifield left three daughters :

1. Margaret, who inherited Apuldrefield and Broxham, married Sir Stephen de Ashway,^ left a son. Sir Stephen de Ashway, and was buried in the Grey Friars.

2. Katharine de Ifield, married Sir Thomas de Foxle or Foxley ^ of Bray and Bramshill, Constable of Windsor Castle, who died in 1360, leaving a son. Sir John de Foxle.

3. Joan, the third daughter of Sir John de Ifield, died unmarried.

In Ifield Church, near Crawley in Sussex, there are two monuments, the one a cross-legged knight, and the other a lady, who have been assigned to Sir John de Ifield and his wife Margery.* Both monuments are engraved in Cartwright's

^ Sir Stephen de Ashway had a mansion in Milk Street, Cheapside. In 1359 he made an expedition to France with John de Brocas of Beaurepaire.

' Sir Thos. de Foxle was son of Sir John de Foxle, Baron of the Exchequer, by his wife Constance, who brought him Bramshill. Sir John obtained a charter for free warren throughout his demesnes at Bromeshull, Eversle, Hayshill, and Bray. (Cha. Rot. 10 £d. II. n. 26.) Sir John de Foxle, grandson of Sir John de Ifield, represented the counties of Berks and Hants in Parliament. He married, first, Mathilde, daughter of Sir John Brocas of Beaurepaire. He died 1378, leav- ing two legitimate daughters, Katharine, who married John Warbleton of Warbleton and Sherfield-on-Loddon, and Margery, who married Robt. Bullock. Sir John died in 1378, and left small sums to the parish churches of Braye, Fynchamstede, Wokyngham, Everslee, and Bromeshull.

' The late Mr. Stothard is said to have discovered on the shield of the knight some fragments of gilding and paint sufficient to show that his armorial bearing was a bend or with a bordure gules. The coat of Ifield in the heraldic dictionaries differs from this, as do the bearings of the Fields and Atfields, with which Ifield is said to be synonymous. Nichols says that the individuals named * atte Felde' and * de la Field,' mentioned in the Rape of Bramber as vendors or purchasers of land from 1 284- 13 1 5, were related to Sir John de Ifield, and in one instance we find Sir John de Ifield and William atte Field parties to fines in the same parish. Also John de la Felde and Robert de la Felde were jurors in the hundred of Typenoke.

38 Swallowjield and its Owners

* Rape of Bramber/ and that of the knight is also in Stothard's

* Monumental Effigies/

We do not know when Sir John de Ifield died, but it appears 1343 that he was ^ holding ' Swallowfield in 1343, as in that year there was a suit at Westminster between * Roger, son of John de Sancto Johanne miles and Joan his wife, piFs., and John de Sto. Johanne of Lageham, chivaler, deforciant, of the Manor of Swalefelde, with appurts, which John de Ifeld, chivaler, and his wife Margeria hold for the term of the life of said Margeria. John de St. John grants the reversion of the said manor after the death of Sir John de Ifeld and his wife to said Roger and Joan and to the heirs of their bodies ; but if none, then to revert to John de St. John and his heirs.'

39

CHAPTER V

THE DE LA BECHES AND BEAUMYS

The De la Beches are said to have been the next owners of Swallowfield, and it is certain, from inquisitions, that they held a large portion of it, but possibly not the whole, and it seems probable that they lived at Beaumys Castle,^ which is described as being then * both in Swafeld, Wilts, and Swafeld, Berks.' *

As early as 1336, Philip de la Beche, Sheriff of Berks, had a right of free warren over Beaumys. He died in 1339, when Edward III. granted it to his brother Sir Nicholas de la Beche, who already had immense territories in Berks and elsewhere. Besides Beche, he owned East and West Compton, Cookham, Binfield, Burghfield, Basildon, Harwell, Stratfield, Padworth, Peasemore, Lekhampstead, Bradfield, Farley, and estates in Sussex.

Sir Nicholas was appointed Governor to the Black Prince, and in 1335-6 was made Constable of the Tower.

In 1340 the two Princesses Isabella and Joanna, aged '34o respectively eight and seven, were left there under his care during the absence of the King and Queen in France, but he

^ Beaumys, also written Beams, Beeaumys, and Bealmes, about two miles from Swallowfield, now the property of Henry Hunter, Esq., of Beechhill.

* The family of De la Beche took their name from the small manor in the parish of Aldworth, Berks, called 'La Beche,* probably from the beech-tree having flourished there, and Godfrey de Beche, mentioned in Domesday Booky is said to have been the founder of the family.

40 Swallowjield and its Owners

appears to have neglected his duties, for on the sudden and unexpected return of the King, one December night, the fortress was found badly guarded,^ the Governor absent,* and only three ordinary servants in attendance ^ on the royal children.

Greatly enraged at this, the King ordered the arrest and imprisonment of Sir Nicholas and other officers, and * treated

1342 them with exemplary rigour,'^ but in less than two years Sir Nicholas received his pardon, was reinstated as Constable of the Tower, allowed to castellate his houses at Beche and Beaumys, and was also employed in the wars in Brittany.

1343 In 16 Edward III., he had summons to Parliament, but not

1345 after. Two years later he was sent as one of the Commissioners to treat with Alphonso, King of Castile, touching a marriage between the eldest son of that King and the Princess Joanna.

1346 Nicholas de la Beche died in 1346-7, leaving no child, but his wife Margery, whom he had married in 1339, survived him, and to her he left his lands in Swallowfield and Beaumys. She was the daughter of Michael, Lord de Poynings, and had pre- viously married Edmund Bacoun or Bacon, of Essex, who was descended from Sir John Bacon of Ewelme. She held the Manor of Hatfield Peverall, which Edward II. had granted to Edmund Bacon in fee in 13 10, for the term of her life, * partly of the King and partly of the Earl of Hereford by homage, and the third part of a knight's fee and two pairs of gilt spurs of twelve pence price.' And she also held Cressing Hall or Cressinges, Essex.

By her first husband, Margery de la Beche had one

* Twenty men-at-arms and fifty archers were assigned for the purpose (Fcedera^ vol. ii. p. 1 102).

^ It is said by Froissart that Sir Nicholas had gone to visit a lady-love in the city. ' The princesses had a large establishment of esquires, clerks, valets, &c.

* Holinshed, vol. iii. p. 360.

The De la Beches and Beatimys 41

daughter, Margery Bacon, born 1337, who married, in 1352, William de Molynes, son of Sir John de Molynes, and she had also a step-daughter ' Margaret Bacon, daughter of Edmund Bacon, by his first wife Joan Brewes,* who married William, second Baron Kerdeston, of Norfolk.

At the death of her second husband Lady Margery de la Beche must have been still very young, and she was a great heiress. Consequently she was exposed to the designs of many suitors, and the following year we find her mentioned as the wife 1347 of both Thomas de Arderne ^ and Gerard de L'Isle.* And again that same year Lady Margery de la Beche was carried oflF and forcibly married to Sir John de Dalton. Very possibly the black death, which was raging this year, may have cut oflF

^ Joan Brewes was daughter of Sir John de Brewes of Stinton, Norfolk, descended from the Lords Braose of Bramber, one of his ancestors being Sir John de Brewes of Stinton, one of the deponents in favour of Sir Richard Scrope in the celebrated controversy between the latter and Sir Robert Grosvenor. In 1384 we find mention of manors in West Wrotham and East Wrotham, and Elyngton, which belonged to Katharine de Brews for her life, 'the reversion whereof John Bacon, King's Clerk, Thomas Godelake, &c., granted to the King.' (Pat. 8 Rich. II. p. i. m. 36.)

' It seems not improbable that Thomas Arderne, who married the widow of Sir Nicholas de la Beche, Governor of the Black Prince, should be son of John de Arderne, who was physician to that prince. This John de Arderne is chiefly con- spicuous now as having left a manuscript in which he affirms that the Black Prince assumed after Crecy the plume of ostrich feathers which had been worn by the King of Bohemia, who fell there ; his assertion is very positive, and it is upon this, and this alone apparently, that the story so universally accepted is based. Sir Sibbald Scott, however, says this romantic story < must be dismissed as fabulous,' and the authenticity of this popular legend is doubted by those who have gone into the question. Dr. Meyrick says that the cognisance and the motto originally belonged to the House of Hainault, and that both were adopted by Edward III. and his family in compliment to Queen Philippa, his Queen, who was daughter of the Count of Hainault. German (' Ich dien ') was the language of the Court of Hainault, but it was not the language of the Bohemians. It is also certain that the crest of the King of Bohemia was a wing (Olivarius Vredius). The cognisance of the feathers was worn not only by the Black Prince but also by King Edward.

' In 1345 Gerard de L'Isle married Elizabeth, widow of Edmund de St. John.

42 Swallowfield and its Owners

Thomas de Arderne and Gerard de L'Isle within a few months of each other.

John de Dalton was son of Robert de Dalton,^ a large landowner in Lancashire. Accompanied by many lawless friends, amongst whom were Henry de Tildersley, Hugh Fazakerley, Sir Thomas Button, Sir Edmund de Mauncestre, and William, son of Sir John Trussell (the latter had the Manor of Woghfield,^ co. Berks, so that he was a near neighbour of Beaums), on Good Friday, the yth of April, 1347, before dawn, John de Dalton and his companions broke into the Castle of Beaums, and carried oiF Margery, Lady de la Beche, and many others prisoners. They killed Michael le Poynings, uncle to Lady Margery, as also Thomas the Clerk of Shipton, and frightened Roger Hunt, the domestic chaplain, to death. Goods and chattels were also stolen to the value of 1,000/. In con- sequence of this assault, a writ was directed to the Sheriff of Lancashire to arrest John de Dalton and all his accomplices and commit them to the Tower. On the same day John Darcy, Keeper of the Tower, was commanded to receive Sir John Dalton, his companions, and Robert, his father. A precept was also issued to the Sheriffs of Berks and other counties to seize into the King's hands all the lands, goods, and chattels of the said Margery.^ Thomas de Litherland, the Prior of Buscogh, Tilderslegh, and Dutton were tried and convicted at the summer

^ Sir Robert de Dalton, Lord of the Manor of Byspham and Dalton Hall (now Thumham Hall).

* Sir John Trussell had the Manor of Woghfield after Roger de Mortuo Man (Mortimer), who bought it from Thomas Danvers in 1 320. In 1 207 a claim was made by Roland Danvers that certain lands in Woghfield, Berks, belonged to him in right of their having come to an ancestor ' as dower on marriage with the daughter of Torold, the son of Geoffrey' (Geoffrey, son of Saxon theyn). The opponent in this suit was Nicholas * de Bulche.'

' Rowe Mores.

The De la Beches and Beaumys 43

assizes for Wilts, holden before William de Thorpe, Chief Justice of England, and others, but were pardoned on the 28 th of November following.^ 1347

At the same time we read * in the 20th year of Edward III., of John, 3rd Baron de St. John, upon the death of Margery his mother,^ * being so infirm that he could not come to the King to do his homage, had respite thereof and livery of those lands > 349-50 which she held in dower.' He died the 8th of April, 23 Ed. St. John, III., leaving by his wife Katharine, daughter of Geoffrey de Say, ^^^

a son Roger, who succeeded him and who was then twenty years of age. In a Roll 22 Ed. III., we find an order for the sale of woods * pertaining to Margery who was wife of Nicholas de la Beche, ore la femme Johan, son of Robert de Dalton, by reason of the forfeiture of the said John for treasons and felonies.' The said Lady Margery died this same year, * seised of Swallowfield.' ^ She was buried in Aldworth Church with her second husband Sir Nicholas de la Beche, where their efligies have been much admired.

At her death Swallowfield passed into the hands of Sir Sir Ed- Edmund de la Beche, Archdeacon of Berks, a brother of Sir la Beche Nicholas. He appears to have been a most audacious character. He assisted in the escape of Lords Audley and Berkeley from Wallingford Castle in 1323, for which he was imprisoned at Pomfret, but soon after set at liberty. In 1327 the Mayor and citizens of Oxford, with Edmund de la Beche at their head, joining themselves with the townsmen of Abingdon, went at midnight in a great body with torches and candles and burnt the Manor of Northcott, belonging to the Abbey of Abingdon,

^ William Tnissell was probably also pardoned, and in 1357 he was Constable of Odyham Castle when David Bruce, King of Scotland, was confined there. ' Pat. 21 Ed. III. pt. 3 m. 15. ' Inq. p. m. 23 Ed. III. pt. i. No. 89.

44 Swallowfield and its Owners

after which they set upon the Abbey itself and ransacked it in a terrible manner, partly killing and putting to flight the monks, for which the ringleaders were hanged at Wallingford. Edmund de la Beche was, however, again pardoned. He died in 1365.

At the death of Lady Margaret de la Beche in 1349 the Manor of Beaumys went to the two younger nieces of Sir Nicholas de la Beche, * Isabel Fitz-EUis and Alice d' An vers, sisters and heirs of John de la Beche, lately deceased,' and it remained in the hands of their descendants till 1424.^

In 8 Henry V. there was a suit at Westminster between John fHtz-Elys and Walter Walkestede, clerk, plaintiflTs, and William Danvers and Joan his wife, deforciants, concerning lands in the parish of Swalefeld. John Fitz-Elys was no doubt a descendant of the William Fitz-Elys . who married Isabel de la Beche. The name, shorn of the * Fitz,' con- tinued in the neighbourhood for some generations, and a *John Elys, gent., of Sheynefyeld,' was buried there in 16 1 7.2 William Danvers, the deforciant, must have been the descendant of Robert d'Anvers, who married Alice de la Beche, Isabel Fitz-Elys's sister. The suit ended in William Deanvers {sic) and Joan his wife granting the land to Joan Fitz-EUis and Walter Walkestede and to the heirs of John, and they were to receive one hundred marks for the concession. And again in 2 Henry VI. (1424) there was a suit between John fFeriby,^ Edmund Rede, Thomas Grene,* Richard Paulyn, chaplain, and

* The Berks branch of the Danvers family became extinct with William Danvers, whose will, in Latin, is at Somerset House, dated 1439 {JUuffenam^ 27).

'*• And in 1693 John Ellis, gent., and Jane Ladyman were married at Shinfield ; and there is still a farm in Swallowfield parish called < Ellis's farm.'

' John fferiby was the representative of the family of John de Foureby, valet of Edward III., who had a grant of land in Swallowfield in 1357.

* John Greene was Vicar of Shinfield and Swallowfield in 1604.

The De la Beches and Beaumys 45

William Perkins,^ plaintiffs, and William Deanvers and Joan his wife, deforciants, for ten marks rent issuing out of the Manor of Beaumys, which is described as being both ' in Swafeld, Wilts, and Swafeld, Berks.' The deforciants grant to the plaintiffs the said rent and liberty to distrain for same if in arrear. The plaintiffs give the deforciants £\o for the concession. In 145 1 Rich. Milbourn was seised of a third part of Beaumys, and in 1493 Thos. Mylborne, knight, died * seised of, inter alia^ a third part of Beams ; ' he had a son Henry and a daughter Cicely.^

In 1482 Beaumys passed from the Marmions to the Stonors. We find under date March 22 Edward IV. a release ^ from John Marmyon, son of Peter Marmyon, to William Stonore, knight, of all his rights in the Manor of Beaumys, which formerly belonged to Peter Marmyon in Shenynfeld, Swalowefeld, Farley, Dydenhame, Trunkwell, Foxhill, and Sheperygge Magna,^ in Com. Berks, Wilts, &c.^

Beaumys then became the property of the Capell family. Sir William Capell, who held it, was Lord Mayor of London in 1 503 ; ^ he left it to Edward Capell, younger son of Sir Giles Capell, and it remained in the Capell family till 1678. Besides Beaumys, they had 1,220 acres and £12 quit-rent in Shinnigfield, Swallowfield, Didenham, Trunkwell, and Ship- bridge. In 1549 Sir Alexander Unton of Wadley, near Faringdon, died * seised of the Manor of Sheprige in Shinfield and Swallowfield,' valued at £40, which he had settled on his

^ Probably William Parkyns of Ufton Robert, who was Bailiff of Humphrey Plantagenet, Duke of Gloucester, and Escheator for Berks and Oxon.

* Inq. 8 Hen. VII. No. 814. In 1677 James Milbourn was Vicar of Shinfield and Swallowfield.

' Now * Sheepsbridge.' * Rot Claus. 22 Edw. IV., m. 27.

* Sir William Capell died 15 15 and was buried at St. Bartholomew's- the- Little. He was son of John Capell, of Stoke Nayland, Suffolk, and from him is descended the present Earl of Essex.

46 Swallowfield and its Owners

second wife Cecily, daughter of Edward Bulstrode, on her marriage in July 1533.^ He was son of Sir Thomas Unton, who claimed descent from Sir Robert Danvers of Ipwell, Oxon (who died 1467), so that Sir Alexander Unton may have been in possession of Sheperygge as a descendant of the De la Beches. Thomas * Anton ' * of Stratfild Sey, co. Hants, clerke of the Court of Wards and Liveries,' who died in 1558, must have been of the same family.^ In his will he begins by saying that he held his farm of ^ Stratfeld Say ' of Eton College, and that his lease was granted by Will, Lord Marques of Wynchester, Lord Thresorer of England, of the Manor of Turges in Stratfield- Turgis, called Great Pytham and Little Pytham, granted by the late Prior and Convent of Marton Abbey .^ And he leaves to his wife Katherine ^ and to his sons Thomas ^ and George his grant from Edward Capell of Foxhill, for ten years of their three lives, according to the custom of the Manor of Beames. Thomas Anton also in his will mentions his lands, &c., of which he was ' seised in fee in Swallowfield, Eversleigh, and Fynchehampsted, co. Barks and Southt., and in Castilford, co. York.'

In 1678, Arthur Lord Capel sold Beaumys to Thomas Woodcock.

The family of Wodecock or Woodcock was an old one. We find a John Wodecock in 1398, and there is in Shinfield Church a brass to William Wodecock and his daughters Katarine and

^ Sir Alex. Unton' s will, registered in Prerog. Ct. Canterbury' (Populwell^ 30.) ' Visit, of Berks 1566 gives Anne, late wife to Thos. Unton of Wadley. She married secondly, John Tygehall of Berks.

* Marton Abbey is in Yorks.

* Sister of John, James, and Henry Chambrelayn, who were his executors. One of the earliest entries in the parish registers of Swallowfield Church is Jo. Chamberlayn, in the sixteenth century.

* Bom 1536.

The De la Beches and Beamnys 47

Isabella, They appear to have lived at Didingham or Didenham, Shinfield. Mr. Danvers bought Beaumys from Thomas Wood- cock,^ and afterwards sold it to Henry Lannoy Hunter, grand- father of Mr. Henry Hunter, the present owner. The name of Woodcock still survives in * Woodcock Lane,' which runs into the Reading road near Three-mile Cross.

^ Amongst the Chancery Bills temp, James I. is one in which the plaintiff, George Woodcock of Whitley, Berks, a younger son of Robert Woodcock of Didnam, sues his father and eldest brother Thomas Woodcock for performance of an agreement by them to settle on the plaintiff, on his marriage with Margaret Mylls, a daughter of William Mylls, lands in Shinfield, or in case Robert Wood- cock should resume possession of these lands, then lands in Swallowfield then in the possession of William Piggot.

48 Swallowfield and its Owners

CHAPTER VI

SWALLOWFIELD A ROYAL PARK

Roger, fourth Baron de St. John, who, we have seen (p. 43),

1352 succeeded his father in 13 CO, released in 13C2, to Sir Nicholas deColney Lovayne and Margaret his wife, all his right in the Manor of

Lageham, but Swallowfield remained his property and was held by Thomas de Colney.

1353 Roger de St. John died in 1353, aged twenty-four, leaving a

K Ed- o ^ • o

ward the widow Joan, aged seventeen, but no children. Peter de St.

Third John,^ his kinsman, was his next heir, but was never summoned to Parliament, and Swallowfield reverted to the King, Joan exchanging the manor with the King for fifty marks per annum.*

i3«;4 In the accounts^ of John White,^ ^354 * Reeve of the Manor

of the Lord the King of Swalwefelde,' we get many place-names and many agricultural details. He answers for 3^. for one acre and half in Risshemede so sold to Richard Forester.

And for 1 2^. for hay in Gormede so sold to William Wythe. And for \od. for rowen \i.e. after-math] so sold to him the said Reeve in Goremede.

* In the Harl. Charters there is a charter of Peter de St John, dated 1356, to Nicholas de * Flovaygne/ knight, and Margaret his wife, of right in the manor of Lageham and Mereden.

* 2 Feet of Fines, Berks, 27 Ed. III., Trinity, No. 4- » Min. Accts. ^\K

* John White held a tenement, with lands called * Lamborne,' in Spene. He had a son called William White of Spene.

Swallowfield a Royal Park 49

And for lod. for hay in Perkemede,^ so sold to William Clerk.

And for %d. for pasture of the meadow of Perke-mede after carrying away the hay so sold to William Justice and Richard Reeve.

And for 55. for pasture in the stubbles of Swalwefelde.

And for dd. for one cow agisted in Bromfelde and Peregrovc for six weeks, and for 6^. for one heifer agisted there, from the feast of St. Peter ad Vincula to the feast of St. Michael.

And for 3^. for two calves of Henry Parmere agisted there.

And for 4^/. for three calves of Robert de Okeley agisted there.

And for \d. for one steer of a certain woman of Sheperiggc agisted there, &c*

And for 4J. for farm of the dove-house for the time of this account.

And for 35. for four quarters and a half of apples and pears sold without.

And for 14J. dd. for a moiety of the agistment appertaining to the King for the time of this account out of 2 95. for the whole agistment of the park and Wheteham from the first day of May, up to the Gule \i.e. August i].

And for ^od. for agistment of four oxen of Richard de Colney. And for i id. for herbage of three gardens sold without for the time of this account.

And for \od. for agistment of 10 oxen, which were Thomas de Colneye's.

And for 4^/. for a moiety of the herbage of 10 acres in Ryershe.

^ There is some meadow land at Swallowfield which still goes by the name of « Perkmead.'

S'

50 Swallowfield and its Owners

And for 95. for twenty-four geese sold ; price of a goose, /\\d.

And for 25. for agistment of eight oxen and six steers of Thomas Hodeman and John Attehole, in the park for four weeks.

And for iid. for two colts of Henry Pokeriche^ agisted there for the same time.

And for 3^/. for one calf of John Taillour agisted there.

And for i od. for three steers of John Jacob *^ agisted there.

And for id. for calves of Simon Norman ^ agisted there.

And for 6d. for one colt of Stephen Cole ^ ditto.

And for 14^/. for the loss of two oaks felled for making the paling of the park, so sold to Adam Aleyn.

And for 4J. for one quarter of meslin sold without, and for 55. for one quarter of malt so sold.

And for los. for autumn works for the coming from five customary tenants of Swa[l]wefelde, every one of whom ought to reap, bind, shock, carry, and stack in autumn the lord's corn with one man every working day before noon until the lord's corn shall be harvested, and such work of one man for the whole autumn is worth is.

And for 55. ^d. for mowing 8 acres of meadow in Langmede.

And for 1 6d. for making hay of the grass coming therefrom ; given for every acre, id.

And for lOOs. received from Sir Henry de Greystoke^ by the hands of Peter Attehache,^ delivering to him money upon the

* Query if the same as * Patherich ' or as * Pokelchurch.'

' Anthony Martyn, son of William Martyn of Wokingham, married Anne, daughter of John Jacob * of Stanford.'

' The name * Norman ' still in the parish.

* Joan Loveden of Lamboume married Richard Cole of Ashbury, Berks ; see Berks Visit. 1 566.

* Sir Henry de Greystocke, auditor of the King's Chamber, 1355-6.

* Hatche of White Waltham. Visit. Berks, 1566.

Swallowjield a Royal Park 51

enclosure of the Park ; and in decay of rent of one cottage which Ralph Prat held, 3^/.

And in mowing nineteen acres of meadow in Perke-mede this year, by the job, ioj. dd.

And in carriage of the hay to the Grange 3J., and in stacking the hay in the Grange 6^., and in picking the hay in the meadows ^d.

And in one thatcher with his servant hired to cover over the hay-house for two dogs 12^.

And to John Fourbour,^ Parker of the King, for his wages at 3^/. a day.

And to Richard lUeger or Ilger,^ bailiff, after him, upon the aforesaid wages.

In the same Roll, under the heading * Demesne Lands,' we find the following names : * Wythecroft within the Park sown with wheat, Medelhalifelde within the Park, MuUecroft sown with winter seed by Thomas de Colney deceased, Bromfelde lies fallow, Whetham lies fallow, Neulonde sewn with wheat and with Lent-seed, to the use of Richard de Colney.' And under the head of * Mowable Meadows,* * Ten acres within the park in Medelhalymede, 8 acres mown to the use of the aforesaid Richard, and two to the use of the King. Five acres in Flodeyatemede. Half an acre of pasture in the wood called " Farlyngmore." '

This same year, 1353, Richard de Colney,^ cousin and heir 1353 of Thomas de Colney, had a suit at Westminster against the King for the ownership of * Swalefeld/ It ended in Richard de

^ This name appears later as Fourby and Ferriby.

' * Ilger/ probably same name as Algar. Osmund Algar was one of John de St John's tenants at Swallowfield in 1276.

• In 1385 'Master Richard Colney presented to the Giurch of Eversley.* (Pat 8 Ric. IL pt. 2, m. 42.)

E 2

52 Swallowjield and its Owners

Colney recognising Swallowfield to be the right of the King, who gave him lOO marks for the concession.

Richard de Colney built a chapel in St. Mary's Church, Reading, which was called * Colney 's Chantry.' It stood in the south aisle, and was founded in 1372. We find in Coates's * Reading ' licence of mortmain was granted to William Baron and Bartholomew Mayhew to apply an annual rent-charge of 25 shillings, issuing out of five messuages in Reading, to the establishment of a chaplain to celebrate a Mass for the good estate of the King, of William Catour,^ and of Johanna his wife, so long as they shall live, and for their souls after their decease, and for the souls of Thomas de Colney and John de Colney ^ and the souls of the faithful, in the Church of St. Mary, in a certain chapel called Colney's Chapel, every day. The said trustees were empowered to apply to the same uses after the decease of Will Catour, Johanna his wife, and Clementia their daughter, two messuages and a tavern called * le boute,' and a certain plat of ground in Reading and six acres of meadow in Tygelhurst (Tilehurst), with three messuages in Minster Street, and two shops with their appurtenances in Soncere Street.^

' William Catour or Cator was Mayor of Reading in 1370, '73, '83, '84, *88, '89, The name originally appears as ' Le Catour ' or Ue Acator/ and sometimes as ^ le Akatour' and 'Lakatour.' (Close Rolls, 131 1 and 1312.)

John Cator was buried at Swallowfield in 1 545, and a John Cator at Reading in 1 558. Emme, daughter of John Cator, was the third wife of Nicholas Backhouse, whose son, Samuel Backhouse, in 1582, bought Swallowfield.

' In 1383 James Berners, the King's knight, was granted, during the minority of the heir, the custody of the lands, late of John Colney, Esquire, &c (Pat. 6 Ric. II. p. 2, m. 15.) * John Colney' was a * Buyer for the Household of the King* in I38i,andin 1385 we find 'John Colney, Esquire,' alluded to as forming part of the King's household. (Pat 6 Ric II. part ii. m. 15). Richard Turner was the last incumbent or chaplain of Colney's Chantry, at the dissolution of which he received a pension of ;£io a year, 22 Henry VIII.

* Soncere Street was also called Sonkere, Synckere, and le Sinker Street In the time of Philip and Mary it was called * Siveyer Street,' in 1802 Sivier Street, and now Silver Street Robert Sevier had possessions in Reading in 1458, and the name * Seaver ' occurs in St. Lawrence's Register in 1686.

Swallowfield a Royal Park 53

The Park of Swallowfield was used at this time by the 1357 Crown for the breeding of horses. In a Memoranda Roll, 30 Edward III., appears the following : * The King to the Sheriff (Oxford and Berkshire), greeting. We command you that of the issues of your bailiwick you shall cause our beloved servant Edmund Rose, keeper of certain of our horses, to be paid and to have the accustomed wages for the keepers of our horses in the parks of Cornbury, Wyndesore, and Swalwefeld, and also the necessaries for the keeping of the same horses for the year of our reign over England now last past, namely to be reckoned from the Feast of St. Michael in the 28th year of our reign over England until the Feast of St. Michael next following, making an indenture between you and the said Edmund Rose, as witness the Treasurer at Westminster, the 2nd day of October in the year aforesaid, by writ under the Great Seal remaining at the receipt of the Exchequer amongst the mandates of Easter term in the i8th year.' And four days later another mandate was issued to the Sheriff commanding him, of the issues of his bailiwick, by testimony of the King's • beloved groom Edmund Rose,^ or of Robert de Whitton,^ his attorney in this behalf,' to * cause to be constructed mangers and stalls in our stables at Swaluefeld, and also cause the walls of the same stables to be repaired for our horses and foals remaining in the keeping of the said Edmund.'

Edward III. kept a large stud, and gave immense sums for some of his horses. In Devon's * Issues of the Exchequer ' the price that he gave for three chargers, in 1330, is mentioned. For a bright brown bay, with two white hind feet, named

* Edmund Rose, yeoman of Edward III., married Agnes Archer, damsel of Queen Philippa. Stowe mentions Edmund Rose, a Norfolk man who was a valiant soldier.

* In 1655 there were Whittons seated at Blackbourton, Oxon.

54 Swallowfield and its Owners

* Bayard,' he gave £k^o (now equivalent to about ;^i,ooo) ; for one dappled with grey spots, called * Le Bryt,' £']0 (equivalent to about ;^i,4CX)) ; and for a grey with a black head, called *Pomers,' £\lo (equivalent to £^yOo6).

In the Originalia Roll 34 Ed. III. rot. 5, we find entries * De Equitio Regis vendendo,' viz., commissions to the three officers appointed to view the King's *Stalones, Jumenta, et PuUani de citra Trentam,' i.e. in Parks of Windsor, Guildford, Odyham, Swallowfield, Woodstock, &c., and to take so many for his use or for sale. The three Commissioners were John de Brocas, who was *Custos equorum Regis,' or Master of the Horse,^ Edmund Rose, and the famous William de Wykeham.^

When his war with France was supposed to be over. King Edward wished to lessen his stud, and some of his horses were sold, and the money realised by the sale was given towards the building of Windsor Castle.^

Archbishop Islip, in a work called * Speculum Regis Edwardi III.,* inveighed against the extravagance of the King's establishment, the expenses of the royal stud particularly exciting his indignation.

* And now, my Lord King,' says he, * consider the expenses you incur yearly about one great horse. One great horse must needs have at the least one groom to attend to it, who will receive three halfpence per day for his expenses. He will

^ John de Brocas, father of Sir Bernard Brocas of Beaurepaire. His dress was a blue tunic with a white cloth cape.

^ In Issue Rolls, Easter, 30 Ed. III., we find that money was paid by William of Wykeham for the keep of the King's eight dogs at Windsor for nine weeks, taking for each dog \d, per day, and for the wages of a boy to keep the said dogs during the same time, id. per day.

'In 1344 the King began to erect the Round Table and allowed ;^ioo to be expended on it weekly. (Walsingham, p. 117.)

Swallowfield a Royal Park 55

receive a provision for the horse itself ; for the price of hay 2^/., straw id. Thus the expenses for a single day, of horse and groom, will be 4^^/., and thus the expenses of one week 2j. 7^^/., enough to support 4 or 5 poor persons. Thus computing the expence of one groom and one horse per annum the expenses amount to £fi ids. How many and great, then, are the annual expenses for your grooms and horses 1 Would it not be good and wholesome counsel to you that you should diminish the number of your horses to pay your debts and those of your father ; or if the debts were paid to give to so many religious poor and pilgrims, or to convert to other uses of piety ? * ^ The King's frequent study of this work is said to have produced a great effect on him.

In 31 Edward III., Joan, widow of the last Baron de 1358 St. John of Lageham, being now of age, married Sir William de Quenton, and they put in a claim for the possession of Swallow- field. There was a suit at Westminster, in which the King and * John Gaunt who follows * were plaintiffs, and William de Quenton and Joan defendants. The latter remit their claim to the King for the time of Joan for 100 marks.

Sir William de Quenton died in 1387. Edmund de la 1365 Beche, in whose possession Swallowfield had been since 1349-50, died in 39 Ed. III. * seised of Swallowfield,' and at his death the manor passed into the hands of King Edward III.

The name of Beche still survives in the neighbourhood of Swallowfield in Beech Hill, the property of Henry Hunter, Esq., who is also the present owner of the site of Beaumys Castle, a slight indication of the moat being all that remains to show where it stood. In the British Museum Additional Charters

1 MiddlehiU MS. 4826, fol. 34.

56 Swallowjield and its Owners

there is mention of a grant from Andrew de Sakewilt le fitz ^ to Ralph de Restwold ^ and Thomas Hancepe, of land in Sheprugge Magna, Swalewefeld, Shynygfeld, and in Stratfeld, Burefield, Southcot, and Farleye, in co. Wilts and Berks, all of which descended to him at the death of Edmund de la Beche, his kinsman and one of the heirs of Nicholas de la Beche, chivalier. The witnesses were John Bardolph, William Makkeney,^ Hugh de Berwick (all *milites') and Henry Stormy,* Robert Bullock and Andrew de Stratford. Dated at La Le6 in the parish of Hurst, Wednesday, Feast of St. Barnabas, nth June, 39 Ed. III.

The same year the King ordered Ralph de Restwold ^ and

Thomas de Hynden ^ to inquire (by inquest) concerning the

removal and concealment of ;^2,ooo found * sub terra apud

Shynyngfeld.' ^

1366 In 1366, Edward III. granted to John deFoureby,* * valettus

^ Son of Sir Andrew SackviUe, who married Joan, sister and heir of John de la Beche.

» Restwold of Mongewell, Oxon, and Restwold of the Vache, Berks. Ralph de Restwold and his son William and grandson Richard are mentioned in Patent Rolls in 1375. * Rafe Rastwold' was Sheriff for Oxfordshire 11 54-5, and Richard Rest- wold was M.P. for Berks 1 441, High Sheriff of Berks 1434-5, and again 1462-3, ob. 1475-6 seised of the manors of Lee and Sunning.

• Mackney Court Farm, near Reading, with the manor, belonged to Robert Dalzell, Esq., in the last century. In 1381 William Mackeneye was one of the ' Buyers for the Household.'

* The same name as * Esturmy.* Henry Esturmy of Wolf Hall, Wilts.

* Was heir to his mother Margaret, daughter of Sir John de Lortie, ob. 8 p. Inq. 5 Ric. II.

• Thomas de Hynden or Hyvendon of Hevyndon, Berks, died 1373. ' Westm. 6 Dec. 38 Ed. III.

^ Foureby, also written Fourbour, Ferebye, Feriby, Ferreby, and Ferbie, now Ferbey. The ancient seat of this family was at Paul's Cray (four miles from Dart- ford), now only a farmhouse. In the church there are memorials of John Ferreby, 1400 : sable, a fess ermine between three goats' heads erased, argent. Several persons of this name, all holding appointments, occur in the fourteenth century. John de Fereby was the King's Clerk of the Works at Westminster and at the

Swallowfield a Royal Park 57

Regis/ and Catharine his wife, in tail general, a messuage, eighteen acres of arable and one of meadow land in Swalefeld, which according to the return of Gilbert Randolph yielded to the King in fee 55. and 4^. annually.^

Thomas de Beauchamp succeeded his father as Earl of Warwick in 1369, and became the over-lord or owner-in-chief of Swallowfield.

Among the Memoranda of the Treasury, the following is 1369 recorded : * Memorandum quod xiii die Julii anno xlix liberatae ^e Beau- fiierunt in Thesauro per Adam de Hertyndon ^ 2 litterae r E^^i^^f

de quieta clamia de manerio de Swallowefelde et impo- ^^nJ ^^^" nuntur in quadam pixide in cista etc. ad tale signum.' ^ v^ K.G.' This shows there was a quit claim at this date confirming ^375 the manor to the Crown, though the Earls of Warwick held it in chief as before, the Crown only dealing with the Earl's tenants or reputed tenants. The sign at the end of the above memo- randum seems to have been the symbol for Swallowfield at the Exchequer.

Tower in 1330, and sat on sundry commissions at York and Newcastle, and in 1333 William de Feriby, the King's Clerk, was executed with Sir John Shelley and Sir Bernard Brocas. In 1386 Sir John de Fereby was Treasurer of York Cathedral. In 1353 John Fourbour was bailiff to the King at Swallowfield, and was probably father of John de Foureby, *Valettus Regis,' 1366. The name Ferrebee still exists in the parish of Swallowfield. » Pat. 39 Ed. III. 2 M. 2.

* Adam de Hertyndon, Canon of Windsor and Dean of the King's Chapel at Stafford, was one of the Chamberlains of the Exchequer, and he was also Surveyor of the King's Manors, and Surveyor of the Works at Windsor Castle, it being part of his duty to collect money for the said works, and he probably obtained some from Swallowfield. In 1384 £;io of rent in Reading was paid to the Abbot and Convent (of Reading) for finding a monk chaplain to celebrate divine service daily in the Abbey Church for the soul of Adam Hartyngdon. (Pat. Ric. II. pt. i, m. 18.)

* Palgrave, Kalendars and Inventories^ vol. i. p. 244.

58 Swallowjield and its Owners

CHAPTER VII

THE PRINCESS ISABELLA

1375 In 1375, King Edward III. gave to his daughter Princess

isabeU^ Isabella de Coucy, Countess of Bedford, a grant of * Swalfeld Countess Manor with his Park,' and Henry Dounham, her esquire, had ford the custody of the Park at a rent of four marks yearly, sold to

him for the term of the said Isabella's life by John Fourbour, to whom it had been granted in 1366.

Isabella, who was the eldest of the four daughters of King Edward III. and Queen Philippa, was born in 1332, at the Palace of Woodstock. The late Mrs. Everett Green ^ gives us most interesting details about this Princess, and the curious phases of her matrimonial engagements.

After negotiations for her marriage, first, with Peter,^ eldest son of Alphonso, King of Castile, and then with the eldest son of the Duke of Brabant, both of which fell through, the King, her father, determined that Princess Isabella should marry Louis, Earl of Flanders. This young Prince, however, was averse to such a connection for more reasons than one.

* Lives of the Princesses of England^ vol. iii. p. 163.

' Peter, afterwards sumamed the Cruel. He became engaged later on to Princess Joanna, Edward III.'s second daughter, who, however, mercifully for her, died of the black death near Bordeaux, on her journey to Spain for her marriage, before she had attained her fifteenth year. In 1367 the Black Prince, after the battle of Najera, reinstated Peter the Cruel on the throne of Castile, from which he had been deposed, and the latter, as a mark of gratitude, presented the Black Prince with the celebrated ruby which is at the top of the British Crown, and which is said to be the finest in the world.

The Princess Isabella 59

Edward III. had tried in conjunction with the celebrated Van Artevelde to displace his father,^ and that father had been slain at Crecy, Besides which he was attached to the daughter of the Duke of Brabant.^ The Flemish nobles, however, urged the English alliance, and, finding him obdurate, kept him a prisoner till he gave way and ultimately agreed to marry Princess Isabella.

King Edward and Queen Philippa conducted their daughter to the Monastery of Berghes, to meet Earl Louis, where the settlements were drawn out, and the ceremony of betrothal^ performed, the bridegroom engaging to marry her the following month. The King and Queen and the Princess then returned to Calais, where they carried on their preparations for the wedding. A few days before it was to take place the intended bridegroom went out hawking as usual, still guarded by a large number of Flemings lest he should escape ! Pretending to go after a falcon, he put spurs to his horse, and managed to get away from them with the assistance of two of his knights. He crossed into Artois and went to the French Court, where he was warmly welcomed by King Philip, and in three months he married Margaret of Brabant 1 ^ Froissart, who was secretary to Queen Philippa, gives a detailed account of this curious story.^

* This ultimately caused the murder of Artevelde by his fellow-citizens in 1345 at Ghent.

^ Margaret, daughter of Duke Wenceslaus of Brabant ; both Edward III. and her father wished her to be the wife of Edward the Black Prince.

' The original marriage treaty between Louis and Isabella, on vellum, with the seals of Edward the Black Prince, Thomas Beauchamp, Elarl of Warwick, the Earls of Suffolk and Northampton, &c., in beautiful preservation, was formerly in the library of the late Sir Thomas Phillips, Bart., No. 9967, as is also the settlement of 10,000 livres presented by Louis to Isabella. This document is finely illuminated with figures and birds.

* Anciennes Chroniques de Flandres. Cotton MS,

* Froissart, vol. ii. p. 207.

6o Swallowfield and its Owners

After this fiasco, there was a respite in the matrimonial negotiations for nearly two years, when propositions were made to Charles of Luxembourg, King of Bohemia, which were not accepted. The Princess now appears to have taken the matter in her own hands, and two years later, in 1351, when she was nine- teen years of age, she engaged herself to Bernard Ezi, the son of the Lord of Albret, a Gascon noble. The young man was said to be remarkable * for his chivalric valour and his personal graces,' but had no other pretensions to merit the hand of a Princess of England. King Edward, however, who was devoted to his daughter, gave his consent, and every preparation was made for the marriage.

The Princess ordered the most sumptuous apparel, amongst which is mentioned her wedding mantle, of rich Indian silk, furred with ermine, and embroidered all over with branches of trees, doves, bears, and other quaint devices worked in silver and gold. We also find mention of 1 1 9 circles made of silk and pearls, each circle enclosing an Agnus Dei of gold, standing upon a band of green velvet with flowers and leaves.^

The marriage was to take place in Gascony, and all the arrangements there completed, when at the very last moment the Princess broke it oflT herself. The bridegroom was so miserable in consequence that he became a monk, and relinquished his hereditary rights to his younger brother.

After this. King Edward apparently ceased taking any further steps towards marrying Princess Isabella, though she was only now nineteen years of age, but he was most generous to her. During the next ten or twelve years he made her numerous grants of lands, and amongst these were * Careswelle, Swalwefeld,

* These were probably equivalent to our wedding favours. (M. A. Everett Green.) Wardrobe Ace. 24 & 25 Ed. III. No. 12 15.

The Princess Isabella 6i

Benham, Spene, et Hamstede Mareschal, necnon duo mesuagia, duas carucatas terrae, quadraginta acras prati, et viginti acras bosci, cum pertinentiis in Holbenham et Westbrok in comitatu Berk.' ^

And now comes the most romantic episode in the life of the Princess Isabella. King John of France, who had been taken prisoner by the Black Prince at Poictiers in 1356 and brought to London, was liberated in 1360 on condition of his paying an enormous ransom. For the security of this payment many of the French nobility were sent over to England as hostages. * Amongst these,' says M. A. Green, * was Ingelram de Coucy, Lord of Coucy, who was selected, not only on account of his honourable birth, but because his family had been most strenuous in their resistance of the aggressions of Edward IIL in France.'

He was at this time twenty-four years of age, and endowed with every attractive quality.^ Edward IIL introduced him at Court, with the result that Princess Isabella, who was now past thirty, fell in love with him, and they were soon publicly engaged. The marriage took place at Windsor in 1366, and King Edward created him Earl of Bedford and installed him as a Knight of the Garter. Besides which he confirmed to him and the Princess all the lands in England which had belonged to his grandfather, William de Guisnes, Lord Coucy ; including the manors of Kirkby in Kendale, Wyersdale, Ashton, Moreholme, and the third part of the lordship of Whittington, all in Lancaster, which descended to the Coucy family through

^ Pat I Ric. II. pt. 2, m. 28.

* Froissart says : * Whatever he chose to do he did well and with grace, and all praised him for the agreeable manner with which he addressed every one.' The motto of the de Coucy family shows their aristocratic independence :

* Je ne suis roi, ne due, ne prince ne comte aussi, Je suis le Sire de Coucy.* It is nearly as fine as that of the Due de Rohan : * Prince ne daigne, roi ne puis, Rohan je suis.'

62 Swallowfield and its Owners

Christian, daughter and heiress of William de Lindesey, one of the heirs to William de Lancaster.^

For some years De Coucy lived in England, where his two daughters were born ; he then took part in many campaigns abroad, and spent much time out of England ; and ultimately he was persuaded by King Charles of France to devote his sword to his rightful monarch, and at the same time we are told that * he communicated to Isabella his wish that she should go back to her father.' ^ This she did, and it was settled that De Coucy shoxild keep his eldest daughter Mary,^ and Philippa,* the younger, should go with her mother.

In 1377, at the death of Edward III., Ingelram de Coucy, * on account of the surrender of his homage and his adhesion to the King of France,' forfeited all his lands &c. in England ; but Richard II. * granted to Isabella, Countess of Bedford, in consideration of her noble birth, all the aforesaid lands, with the exception of certain castles, manors, &c., which are granted in aid of her daughter Philippa's maintenance.' Swallowfield apparently was excepted, as we find by a Memoranda Roll that Richard II., in 1377, granted to Sir William Arundel, or d' Arundel, for the term of his life, the Manor of Swalfelde, with parks, woods and all other commodities to the same manor, belonging to the counties of Berkshire, Wiltshire, and Southampton.

Isabella, Countess of Bedford, died in 1379, ^&^^ forty-seven, and was buried at Christchurch, Newgate.*

^ The King also gave De Coucy a grant of 1,000 marks per annum out of the Exchequer and thirty from the county of Bedford.

' M. A. Everett Green, Idves^ &c. vol. iii. pp. 216, 218. ' Mary de Coucy married Henri de Bar in 1303.

* Philippa de Coucy married Robert de Vere, ninth Earl of Oxford, one of the favourites of Richard II., who created him Duke of Ireland.

* After her death, John Whatton continued to receive an annuity of 5 marks

The Princess Isabella 63

Ingelram de Coucy married secondly Isabelle, daughter of the Duke of Lorraine, and died in 1397 of the plague.

Sir William Arundel, who became the owner of Swallowfield »377 .

jixiT /• Sir Will.

in 1377, was the second son of Sir John Arundel, Marshal or Arundel England, by his wife Alionore, granddaughter and heir of Lord Maltravers ; ^ and he was grandson of Richard Fitz-Alan, ninth Earl of Arundel, by his second wife, Eleanor Plantagenet. He was consequently related to King Edward IIL, and we find him generally called * kinsman of the King.*

His father, and his uncle the Archbishop of Canterbury, having dropped the family name of Fitz-Alan ^ and assumed that of Arundel, Sir William continued to use the latter name.

In 1379 Sir William lost his father. Sir John Arundel, who 1379 was drowned, with many others, when at the head of an expedition sent to assist the King of France. Baker, in giving an account of this fatality, says : ^ It may not be impertinent to note here the sumptuousness of these times, for this John Arundel was said in his furniture to have fifty-two new suits of apparel of cloth of gold and tissue, all lost at sea.* Sir John left his son five hundred marks.

In November, 1382, the Manor of Swallowfield, called in 1382 the patent * Swelfeld,* was granted, inter aliuy for life to Queen Anne of Anne,3 being ' in the King s hands by the death of his aunt Bohemia Isabella, Countess of Bedford, in compensation for deficiencies

granted to him by Princess Isabella from the Manor of Swalfeld, and Hugh de la Chambre 2d, daily from same source.

^ Alionore Maltravers married secondly Reginald de Cobham, and their grand- daughter, Eleanor Cobham, was the lady who did penance.

* Sir J. H. Ramsay, in his History of York and Lancaster^ says : * The name Fitz-Alan as usually given to this family (Earl of Arundel) in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries is a mere invention of later times, unknown to the persons sup- posed to have borne it'

' Anne of Bohemia, daughter of the Emperor Charles IV. of Germany. She married King Richard II. in 1382, when she was only fifteen, and died in 1394.

64 Swallowfield and its Owners

in the value of manors lately granted to her in dower.' ^ And later on in the same year Richard IL further granted her that she should *hold all the premises with knight's fees, advowsons, wardships, marriages and escheats, and all other liberties and customs appurtenant thereto, all fines, ransoms, amercements, issues, forfeits, &c., as fully as the King if he had retained the premises, together with chattels of felons and fugitives, &c.' ^l^l In 1383 Sir William Arundel engaged in the Crusade of which Henry Spencer, the warlike Bishop of Norwich, was declared General. This Crusade was raised by Pope Urban VL against his rival Clement VII. ; France having espoused the cause of the latter, and England of the former Pope.

John Kirton ^ of Sandhurst and John Chewe ^ of Wokingham were appointed * Collectors of the Bishop of Norwich * for this expedition, in the neighbourhood of Swallowfield.*

This same year Thomas de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, the owner-in-chief of Swallowfield, confirmed a grant *to John Russell of Strengesham, knight, for life of a yearly rent of 20/. in time of peace and 40/. in time of war, with * bouche au court * for himself, a chamberlain, a groom, and three horses in time of peace, and for himself, a chamberlain, three grooms, and five horses in time of war, in return for bachelor service.' ^

This Queen is called one of the Mothers of the Reformation, as she first introduced the works of WicklifTe to John Huss, and it is said she daily read the Scriptures in the vulvar tongue.

^ Pat. 6 Rich. II. part 2, memb. 35.

* John de Kirton, a//Vw John de Kyneaton or Kineton, Pat Rolls, 5 Rich. 1 1. 7, ' The name ^ Chewe ' still exists in Swallowfield.

* West O. VII. 398. Amongst those * going beyond the seas in the company of Henry, Bishop of Norwich,* is the name * John Cordray, clerk.' This is a name (Cordery) much respected now in Swallowfield.

^ Pat 6 Ric. II. pt ii. m. 6. This Sir John Russell of Strensham is said to be the direct an estor of the Russells of Swallowfield.

The Princess Isabella 65

In 1389 Sir William Arundel had, together with Sir Simon 1389 Fellrige and Robert Teye,^ a licence to travel, and they were allowed by the licence to take twelve horses with them. Sir William attended Richard II. when he went to Ireland to 1394 quell a rebellion in 1394. On his return he was admitted to the Order of the Garter, and succeeded in 1395 to the stall of 1395 Sir Nicholas Sarnesfield. This same year he was made Constable of Rochester Castle, and Governor of the City of Rochester. In Devon's ^ Issues of the Exchequer * mention is made of a writ directed to Sir William Arundel in 1395 ^^^ repairing a defect of the New Tower, near the bridge in Rochester Castle, and in * Additional Manuscripts ' in the British Museum there is a mandate directed from ^the King to his dear and faithful William Arundel, Chevalier, Constable of his Castle of Rochester,* desiring him to see that the High Street of Rochester is newly paved.

In 1397 Thomas de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, the 1397 over-lord or owner-in-chief of Swallowfield, was seized at a feast given to him by the King, and sent to the Tower.* He had been Governor of the King in the third year of his reign, but very soon joined the party of Thomas, Duke of Gloucester. He and the Earl of Arundel (Sir William's uncle) were tried and condemned to death. Lord Arundel was executed, but the Earl of Warwick's sentence was commuted to banishment to the Isle of Man,^ and the Earl of Wiltshire,* who was King of the

^ Robert de Teye was a Commissioner of Array in Essex.

' The Beauchamp Tower, in which so many celebrated persons have been incarcerated, derived its name from this Earl of Warwick

» Rot. ParL iii. 380 b.

^ This Earl of Wiltshire was Sir William le Scrope, eldest son of Richard, Lord Scrope of Bolton, in favour of whom the celebrated suit with Sir Robert Grosvenor was decided in 1390, confirming to him the right to bear the arms, azure, a bend or.

66 Swallowfield and its Owners

Island,^ was paid 1,074/. * for taking him, and for the support of the said Earl &c.' ^

Lord Warwick's estates were given, some to Lord Wiltshire ^

and some to the Earls of Worcester and Gloucester, but the

greater part, with the custody of the young Richard Beauchamp,

Thos. to Thomas Holland, 3rd Earl of Kent, K.G., nephew to

Earl^^' Richard IL, who then became owner-in-chief of Swallowfield, Sir

Kent William Arundel continuing to hold Swallowfield * for the term

of his life of the grant of the King,' and in less than a month

after his uncle's execution he was given the lucrative offices of

Constable and Warden of Reigate Castle, with Rangership of the

surrounding parks and chases. The grant is directed * dilecto et

fideli consanguineo nostro Willielmo Aroundell, chivaler.'

1399 The account of the feast of the Order of the Garter in 1399 tells us that robes of scarlet were provided for Sir William Arundel, and robes also were provided for Lady Agnes Arundel, his wife.*

1400 Sir William Arundel died in August, 1400. He made his will in London on the ist of August of that year, wherein he

^ Lord Wiltshire had been King of the Isle of Man since 1393, when Sir William Montacute, Earl of Salisbury, sold it to him ' with the title of King and the right of being crowned with a golden crown.'

* Then Sir William was King of the Isle of Man,

But he thought but little of it, For he sold it, and bought cattle. Which was a ipty he ever did. To Lord Scroop he sold it,' &c.

Ballizdy Train's Isle of Man^ vol. i. p. 53. ' Devon's Issues of the Exchequer^ p. 272. Manx Soc. Publ. vol. xvi. p. 309. ' On the accession of Henry IV. Lord Wiltshire was attainted and beheaded, the Isle of Man being granted to Percy, Earl of Northumberland. He, however, was attanted in 1403, and in 1405 Henry granted the Island to Sir John Stanley, in whose fomily it remained till 1829.

^ At this time and for ages after every Knight of the Garter was accompanied to the Chapters by his wife, who wore the badge. The monumental statue of Lady Harcourt, tUe Byron, at Stanton Harcourt displays the order of the Garter.

The Princess Isabella 67

directed the interment of his remains in the church of the Priory of St. Andrew, at Rochester, at the back of the High Altar, and adds : * to my wife Agnes, all my jewels ; to my carnal brother. Sir Robert Arundel, my lands ; and my vessels of silver to my loving nephew, Sir William Arundel, Kt.' ^

The will of Agnes, Sir William's widow, bears date 6th September, 1401. In it she desires to be buried near her husband, under a tomb upon which their effigies had been sculptured, and she leaves bequests as follows : * to the Countess of Hereford (Joan, daughter of the ninth Earl of Arundel, her husband's aunt) ; to my Lady Mother ; to my Sisters (in law) the ladies Ross and Brian (Margaret Arundel, who married Thomas, seventh Baron de Ros, and Joan Arundel, who married first. Sir William de Bryen or Brienne of Kemsyng, Kent) ; to Margaret Cobham (Margaret, daughter of Hugh Courtenay, Earl of Devon, and wife of John, second Baron Cobham, cousin of her husband's) ; to dame Margaret Felbrigge (probably wife of Sir Simon Felbrigge, with whom Sir William Arundel travelled in 1389) ; to dame Catherine St. Liz ; to dame Isabel Vache (wife of Sir Philip La Vache, K.G., Chamberlain of Queen Isabella's).2

Mr. Rye, in the * Archaeologia Cantiana,' says that the monument of Sir William Arundel * was unavoidably disturbed during the recent restoration of the choir,' and that * when the large stone slab which had contained effigies in brass, was removed, a leaden • coffin, and the body of a woman closely wrapped in lead, became visible. The brasses had been torn from their slab, but the matrix clearly showed the figure of a knight in armour, holding the hand of a lady by his side.'

' Reg. Amndel, Lambeth, fo. 173 and 192. ' Nicolas's Tes f amenta Vetu^ta,

F 2

68 Swallowfield and its Owners

CHAPTER VIII

SWALLOWFIELD UNDER ROYAL DUKES

1400 After the accession of the Duke of Lancaster as Henry IV. in 1400, Thomas Holland, Earl of Kent, who had held Swallow- field since 1397, engaged in a conspiracy with the Lords Huntingdon, Salisbury, and Despencer to dethrone him and restore Richard. Their plan was to seize the King whilst he was at a tournament at Windsor,^ but Henry was warned and hurried to London. The Earls of Kent and Salisbury then went to Sonning, near Reading, where Queen Isabella ^ was endeavouring to raise the people, but they could get no following there, and they retreated to Cirencester, at which place they were made prisoners, and they were executed either there or at Oxford. Some half a dozen of Richard's followers were taken to the Tower and tried. Amongst these men were. Sir Bernard Brocas of Beaurepaire, Sir Thomas Shelley, and Richard's two chaplains, Richard Mandelyn and William de Fereby, who were executed at Tyburn with horrid barbarity. William de Fereby was son of John de Ferriby or Foureby of Swallowfield, valet to Edward III.,^ who had a grant of land there in 1357. He left writings which are to be found in Chron. Giles. He wrote

* Walsingham, p. 403 ; Chronicle of London^ p. 86.

' Queen Isabella, second wife of Richard II., was daughter of King Charles VI. of France.

' Katharine, the mother of William de Ferriby, had a provision granted her.

Swallowfield under Royal Dukes 69

lamenting the fate of King Richard, whom he treats as already dead :

^ O Mors crudelis, mundi honorem extinxisti. Rapuit nunc mors cui similem nequit reddere natura, &cJ

Anyhow, in less than a month Richard II. was heard of no more.

When Thomas Holland, Earl of Kent, was executed his Moo

. . Thos.

honours and lands were forfeited ; ^ at the same time Thomas Beau- Beauchamp, fourth Earl of Warwick, was released from his im- 4th Earl prisonment in the Isle of Man, and reinstated in his posses- °i^*^' sions, so that he again became the owner-in-chief of Swallowfield* He died the following year * seized of Swaluefeld,' and a grant, dated the 12th of November, 1 401, gives *to John de Lancaster, 1401 the King's son, the custody of the house of Swalefeld, with pianta- parks, woods, and all other commodities to the same manor f^j^^^'^f belonging in the counties of Berkshire, Wiltshire, and South- Bedford ampton, to have for twenty years from the death of William d' Arundel, chivaler.*

This * John de Lancaster * was John Plantagenet, third son of King Henry IV., and was ten years old at this time.

In an inquisition ^capta apud Remenham,' on Monday of 1403 the Feast of All Saints, 4 Henry IV., before the Escheator of Berks* and a jury, we find, * item dimidium feodum militis in Swalufeld et Shynyngfeld heres Johannes de St. John de Lageham tenuit de dicto Comite (Warwick) et valuit per annum ^20.' And in another Inq. p. m. 8 Hen IV., *Swalufell et 1407 Shynyfell, a half-fee of which heirs of St. John hold, is in

* In Issue Roll Mich., i Hen. IV., we find that * John Lokyngton, clerk, was appointed, under the Great Seal, to seize into the King's hands all the lands and tenements which belonged to Thomas, Earl of Kent, also to inquire concerning the goods and chattels of the same, in the counties of Southampton, Berks, and Wilts.'

' John Arches was Escheator in co. Berks in 1403.

70 Swallowfield and its Owners

Margaret possession of Margaret, widow of the fourth Earl of Warwick,

of War- ^^^ daughter to William, third Lord Ferrars of Groby.

^^^^ In May, King Henry IV. was at Swallowfield. His health

was now very bad, and after he had finished his Welsh campaign

he made several little tours, either for change of air or to

contradict the prevailing opinion that he was incapacitated by

leprosy from appearing in public.^ Mr. Wylie, in his * History

of Henry IV.,* says: *From May ist to the 8th (1409) the

King was at Sutton, near Chiswick, on his way to Windsor to hunt

with the hart-hounds, hayters, and otter-hounds. The Royal

tents had been already sent down, and on May 9th he was

at Bird's-nest Lodge, in the Forest, and was able to report that

he was in good surety of his person. Thence he passed to

Easthampstead, Swallowfield, Henley-on-the Heath, and Chertsey,

and was back in Windsor Castle by June ist.'

'435 John Plantagenet, Duke of Bedford, died at Rouen in 1345,

VI. leaving * Swalefeld ' as well as all his other estates to his nephew.

King Henry VI., and he assigned an annuity of twenty marks to

Nicholas Cleve ^ and Margery his wife, with power to distrain

on Swalefeld.^

M36 The following year the said Margery Cleve had lost her

husband and married again, for we find in the same inquisition

^ The King probably had cancer in the face ; he is described as having some kind of tumour below his nose. In 141 1 he sent for a Jew doctor, Elias Sabot, from Bologna, and in 141 2 he sent to Lucca for Dr. David de* Nigarelli, and he had public prayers offered up for his health. He died suddenly in 141 3, being seized with a fit whilst at his devotions in Westminster Abbey. For some time previously he had become almost a bed-ridden cripple, though only 46 years of age.

* The name * Cleve * occurs in Basingstoke from the fourteenth century, spelt in a variety of ways : Cleeve, Clive, Clithe, Cleet, Clythe, Clyde, &c. John Cleet was Knight of the Shire for Berks in 1362, and his daughter, Alice Cleet, married Edmund Danvers, Knight of the Shire, 1328. William Cleeve was Chaplain and Clerk of the Works to King Henry VI. in 1445 \ "^ot unlikely to be son of the above Nicholas Cleve.

• Inq. p. m. 14 Hen. VI., No. 36.

Swallowfield under Royal Dukes 7 1

I that Margery, widow of Nicholas Cleve, lately deceased, having

married Thomas Letterford,^ was, with her husband, seised of Swalefield, rent-charge in fee.

This same year the Duke of Bedford's widow Jacqueline or Jacquetta,* to whom King Henry VI. had granted a third part of the Manor of Swalefeld, took for her second husband Richard Woodville or Wydeville, a squire of no birth, who had acted as steward to her late husband, but considered the hand- somest man in England. In consequence of this marriage, her dower was forfeited, and her share in Swalefeld, inter alia^ was taken from her. On her humble supplication to Parliament, however, and through the intercession of Cardinal Beaufort, Duchess Jacqueline's 1437 misalliance was forgiven and her dower restored the following year, she being assigned £111 on payment of a fine of ;^ 1,000.^ She lived till 1442.

From a Memoranda Roll 20 Hen. VI., we learn that the 1438 King granted, in the sixteenth year of his reign, the custody Martyn of two parts of the Manor of Swallowfield to John Martyn,*

^ Thomas Letterford appears to have been son of John Letterford of Somerset, and in the De Banco Roll of Easter, 15 Rich. II., under * Somerset,' is *John Letterford, plaintiff, as well for himself as for the King, in a suit' The name * Letterford * very rarely occurs. I was told some years ago at the Record Office that it did not exist, but I ultimately came across the above instances and some others. In an extract. Lay Subsidy, 20 £d. III., 'Domina de Loterford' appears. It is probably the same as * Letford ' which we find in Hants in the thirteenth, fourteenth, and sixteenth centuries. * Walter de Letford was a juror in Hants {Rolls of Parliament^ i. 19). John Letford of Aulton Esthoke, Hants, was party to a deed, 15 Hen. VIII. {Cotton Charters y v. 57.)

' Jacquetta, Duchess of Bedford, was a daughter of Peter, Comte de St. Pol ; she had only been married two years to the Duke of Bedford when he died, and she was but 19 when she married for the second time.

• Devon's Issues of the Exchequer y 436.

* In a list of Berks gentry for 1433 the name 'Johannes Martyn' appears. He was probably one of the family of * Martyn of Ockingham,* of which several generations are given in the Visitation of Berks taken in 1 566, and a branch of which lived at Shinfield. * Martyn of Ockingham ' appears amongst the names of

72 Swallowfield and its Owners

Groom-Usher of the Chamber, for the term of his life, and the said John Martyn was directed by the King to pay to Thomas Letterford and Margery his wife, for the term of the life of the said Margery, ^8 lyj. i6^. * as for two parts of a certain annuity of 20 marks per annum granted by the King to them, of the issues and profits of the lordship or manor afore- said, reserving in his own hands £^ iij. 3*/. per annum, namely ^d. per diem, for safe custody of the park of the manor aforesaid.'

Margery Letterford was buried at Swallowfield, and a brass to her memory, now in the chancel of All Saints' Church, is in very good preservation. It is thus described by Ashmole : • The woman is in her ordinary habit, with the scrowl out of her mouth, " Jesu, mercy ; Lady, help." And underneath the following inscription : •' Hie jacet Margeria quondam uxor Thomas Letterford, arm., que obiit ... die ... an. D"" mcccc ' . . . Cujus anime propicietur Deus. Amen." '

In the year 1442, John Martyn of Swallowfield indirectly played a part in one of the most curious stories of English history.

We find in a Roll of that date that he was employed by King Henry VI. to be in attendance on the Duchess of Gloucester and accompany her to Chester Castle, where she was imprisoned. This lady was the celebrated Eleanor Cobham, daughter of Ranald, Lord Cobham,' a lady of great beauty,

gentry in the Commission of Peace 1501, and his brother, Edtrard Martyn 'of Shynfelde,' is buried at this latter place, and another Edward Martyn, 'quondam supervisor Regius,' was buried at Shinfield in 1604, as also his wife.

' This Reginald de Cobham was half-brother to Sir William Aj-undel, who owned Swallowfield and died in 1401.

Swallowfield under Royal Dukes 73

whom Humphrey Plantagenet, Duke of Gloucester, fourth son of Henry IV., had married.

This Duke, called * the good Duke Humphrey,* had been, in conjunction with his brother John, Duke of Bedford, and Cardinal Beaufort, Regent during the minority of the King, and the Cardinal, jealous of Duke Humphrey, had brought forward an accusation against his wife, of high treason, the accusation alleging that Duchess Eleanor, with confederates, had worked against the King's life by witchcraft. The process consisted in melting a wax figure of the young King before a slow fire, the idea being that as the figure melted his life would melt away also. 'The scene of this supposed sorcery was the Lodge in Hornsey Park, then the residence of the Duke of Gloucester.^

At first the Duchess fled to sanctuary at Westminster, but she was made to appear before a tribunal consisting of the two Arch- bishops Chicheley and Kemp, Cardinal Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester, and Ayscough, Bishop of Salisbury. In August she was sent to Leeds Castle, Kent,* till October, when she was brought up before two other Commissions. The Duchess denied many of the charges brought against her, but admitted that she had consulted the celebrated Witch of Eye ^ and also Roger Bolingbroke,* a learned ecclesiastic, as to her future, and Bolingbroke appears to have encouraged her to believe that the Duke her husband would become king ; but it is equally probable that in this respect, at all events, she was guilty of

^ The Duke and Eleanor his wife had also the Manor of Greenwich granted them by Henry VI. in 1437, and the Duke commenced building the Tower, now the site of Greenwich Observatory.

* Feed. X. 881 ; Chron, Davis, 58.

' Margery Jourdemain or Guidemar, also called Jordan and Gourdmain.

^ In the Issue Rolls he is called Roger Bukbroke, and sometimes he appears as Roger Onely or Only.

74 Swallowfield and its Owners

no greater crime than are those ladies of the present time who consult fortune-tellers and palmists.

Duchess Eleanor was, however, condemned first to do penance in the public streets, and then to be imprisoned for life.^ She was made to walk, wrapped in a sheet, with a lighted taper in her hand,* from the Temple stairs to St. Paul's on one day, on another to Christchurch, Aldgate, and on a third to St. Michael's, Cornhill, foUowed by the Lord Mayor, Sheriffs, &c. She was then sent to the care of Sir Thomas Stanley at Chester Castle, and it was here that John Martyn of Swallowfield conveyed her, having had the safe custody of the Duchess assigned to him.^ There was also in attendance on the Duchess Sir John Stiward Kt., John Stanley and Thomas Wesenham, esquires, Thomas Pulford, James Grisacre, valets of the King's Crown, and John Wattes, valet of the household.^ In December 1443 she was removed to Kenilworth,* where she was under the custody of Ralph, Lord de Sudeley, Constable of the King's Casde, and where she had * twelve persons in attend- ance ; viz., one priest, three gendemen, one maid, five valets, and two boys.' ^ For her daily support Duchess Eleanor received one hundred marks yearly ; Lord de Sudeley received daily six and eightpence per day ; the priest and the gendemen %d. per day ; the maid and the valets 6^., and the boys 4^. per day.^

Finally, in July 1446, this unfortunate lady was banished to

^ Ellis Letters^ second series, i. 107,

' In the Chronicle of London she is said to have been < barehede, with a keuer- chif on her hede, berynge a taper of wax of ijlb in here bond.' ' Issue Roll, Michaelmas, 20 Hen. VI.

* Ibid. * Rymer's Fcedera^ xi. 45.

* Issue Roll, Easter, 22 Hen. VI. ^ Ibid.

Swallowfield under Royal Dukes 75

the Isle of Man,^ where, it is said, she remained fourteen years, till her death in 1460.^ Her ghost, we are told, still haunts Peel Castle, and the ^ Mauthe Dhoo,' or Black Dog, is supposed to be her spectre.^

Of her confederates, Margery Jourdemain, the Witch of Eye, was burnt at Smithfield, and Roger Bolingbroke, the ecclesiastic, who was described as • a great and cunning man in astronomy,' was hanged,* having first written a book to prove his innocence.* Thomas Southwell, who was a Canon of St. Stephen's Chapel,* Westminster, was also condemned to be hanged, but died in prison.

The witch in Smithfield shall be burned to ashes. And you three shall be strangled on the gallows.

Shakespeare, fi Henry VI. ii. 3.

Duke Humphrey himself died in 1447, suddenly, after being arrested by order of the King. He obtained his title of • Good ' from his patronage of literary men.

John Martyn died in 1442-3. He probably gave his name 1442-3 to a portion of Swallowfield, as in 1662 we find mention of twenty- four acres of the park, near Swallowfield Church, called * Martyn's Corner,' and in the churchwarden's accounts for 1 801 we still find * Martin's pightle.'

At his death, two-thirds of the Manor of Swalefeld went to

* Nicolas, Proceedings of Privy Council^ vi. 51.

' Cf, Oliver's ' Monumenta,' in Manx Soc, Publ, vol. ix. p. 19.

' The Mauthe Dhoo was an apparition in the shape of a large black spaniel with curled shaggy hair, which was said to haunt Peel Castle. Waldron's Isle of Man^ 1731, quoted by Sir Walter Scott in Peveril of the Peak.

^ In the Chronicle of London^ t^\tt6. by Sir Harris Nicolas, we find that Roger the Clerk was * hanged, hedyd, and quartered,' and * the hedd sett upon London Bridge, and his quarters at Hereford, Oxenford, York, and Cambngge.'

^ De Innocentia Sua^ and he also wrote one Contra Vulgi SupersHHones.

^ Daniels, in his Life of Henry VI.^ also mentions, as a confederate of the Duchess who was apprehended, John Hume, her chaplain.

76 Swallowfield and its Owners

John John Penycoke, Groom of the Robes and Chambers to King

Penycoke jj^j^ry VL, who gave the said manor in reversion (after the

respective deaths of John Martyn and Jacqueline, Duchess of

Bedford) to the said John Penycoke to hold for ever in tail male,

yielding yearly at Christmas a pair of spurs of the value of 20j.,

or 20J. in money.^ He is described as the son of John Penycoke,^

and he owned the following manors in Lincolnshire : — Nether-

burnham, Westwood, Owston, Epworth, and Esdand, as also

Haxay, in the Isle of Axholme.

1445 Henry de Beauchamp, sixth Earl of Warwick and Duke of

Beau- Warwick, K.G., died in the twenty-third year of his age on June

Counu»s ^ ^» H45-* He left an only daughter, Anna de Beauchamp, aged

of War- two years and a half, who became Countess of Warwick. She

was his heir and *held \ a fee in Swalufeld and Shyngfell,

which heirs of John St. John formerly held, value ;^2o,'

but we find the Crown still disposing of the tenancy of

Swallowfield as it had done since the year 1357.

Anna de Beauchamp was put under the tutelage of Queen Margaret, and afterwards was under the care of William de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, at whose Manor of Ewelme she died in 1449, and was buried in the Abbey of Reading, next to the grave of Constance, Lady le Despencer, her great-grand- mother. 1447 In 1447 the sum of £6^ js. 4//. was paid out of the

Exchequer, by assignment to John Penycok, valet of the King's

* Pat R. 21 Hen, VI. pt ii. m. 7.

' John Penycoke was of the fiamily of Penicok or Penycukis of the North. Sir Nigel de Penicok had his estates confiscated by Edward I., and his sons, Nigel and John, entered the English service.

' Henry III. conferred the title of King of the Isle of Wight upon this Earl, and himself placed the crown upon his head. A representation of Warwick wearing an imperial crown, with a sceptre in his hand, appears in an ancient window in the Collegiate Church at Warwick.

Swallowfield under Royal Dukes 77

Robes, in advance, for repairs done at Byflet Park, and to a certain bridge within the said park ; also for repairing a certain lodge there, and for keep of rabbits within the said park.^

In the list of thirty persons^ whom the English Commons 145 1 petitioned King Henry VI. to remove from about him, appears the name of John Penycoke,^

The petition began as follows :

* Prayen the Comons, for as muche as the p*sones here aft in this bille named hath been of mysbehavying aboute youer roiall p'sons and in other places, by whose undue meanes youre possessions have been gretely amenused, youre lawes not executed and the peas of this youre reame not observed nother kept.' *

The King agreed that some of the persons considered objectionable should retire from Court for a year, but he excepted the lords and those who personally attended him. John Penycoke clearly was not removed from the King's person, 1461 for he was one of the hundred and fifty-five individuals who fled into Scotland with Henry VI. after his defeat at Towton, and he was attainted of high treason by the new King Edward IV., and the jurors find that his manors ought to belong to the King by reason of said attainder.^

Also in an inquisition taken October 24, 1465, concerning

^ Byflet belonged to the Crown, and John Penycoke was the King's steward there. In 1450 he presented the Priory, Weybridge Church as a rectory, and in 1454 he was patron of the church at Wisley.

^ Amongst the thirty persons were the Duke of Somerset, the Bishop of Chester, John Trevelyan, the Lords Dudley, Hastings, and Hoo.

* In a poetical satire on the Favourites of King Henry VI., in MS. in Cotton Collection, and reprinted in Ritson's Songs &c, the name < Jack Nape ' appears — possibly the origin of ' Jack-a-nape.'

* Trevelyan Papers^ vol. i. p. 60 ; Rot Petri, v. p. 216.

* Rot, Pari. vol. v. p. 477 ; Will, Wyrcester, {Lib, Nig, \\, p. 491) v. 479.

78 Swallowfield and its Owners

his lands in Lincolnshire, * John Penycoke, late of Byfleet,* is found to have forfeited his lands to the King.^

John Penycoke had a son of the same name as himself whom we find, in i486, with his son (also John) executing a deed in favour of the Carthusian Order in the Isle of Axholme, CO. Lincoln.

* Inq. p. m. 5 Ed. IV. No. 43.

79

CHAPTER IX

SWALLOWFIELD AND THE HOUSE OF YORK

The next owner of Swallowfield appears to have been 1464 Elizabeth Woodville, Edward IV/s Queen. Elizabeth

She was the daughter of Richard de Wydvile or Woodville, ^y^^*^*® Lord Rivers, by Jacqueline or Jaquetta, Duchess of Bedford, and married firstly Sir John Grey of Groby. She then became a Lady of the Bedchamber to Margaret of Anjou. Her husband was killed at the battle of St. Albans in 1461, and in 1464 the King became enamoured of her and married her privately on May i of that year at Grafton Regis, her father*s place in Northamptonshire. The marriage was not declared till September, when a second sort of ceremony appears to have taken place at Reading Abbey, and there is in the British Museum a portrait of Elizabeth as she appeared in her bridal dress on that occasion, which was illuminated for Edward IV.

We find that * the Manor of Swaloghfeld being vested in the Queen,' she exchanged a moiety thereof for the Manors of Hagley and Braddeley, co. Worcester, and by letters patent {i.e. lease) dated January 21, 2 Edward IV., devised the other moiety to Richard Hance, Esq.,^ and Alionore his wife, relict of

^ Hance is the same as Hannes. There was a £amily of that name at Burford, Oxford, and a Richard Hannes of Oxford had arms granted him in 1641.

1465

8o Swallowfield and its Owners

Thomas Prowde, Esq., alias Prutt,' at a rent of ^^40 for said moiety. This occupation can be traced through accounts for eighteen years. We do not know who this Richard Hance was, but probably he or his wife had held some position about Jacquetta, Duchess of Bedford, the mother of Edward IV/s Queen, as in the Duke of Lancaster's Min: Accounts mention is made of * Jaquettus Hance,* a manorial officer, doubtless a godson of Duchess Jacquetta.

In the fourth year of his reign King Edward IV. granted to Elizabeth, Queen Consort, who had been crowned in May of this year, an annuity of twenty marks or ^ 1 3 65. dd? out of two thirds of the Manor of Swallowfield, and on the same day the King ordered the farmers and occupiers to pay the annuity at Michaelmas and Easter.®

The King had married Elizabeth Woodville contrary to the advice of Warwick, * the King-maker,' ^ who hated the Woodville family and did everything he could to lessen their influence.

Rumours were now set afloat that Jacquetta, Duchess of

' Provde, alias Prutt, is written in an infinity of ways : le Pruz, Prowse, Prouse, le Prude, Prowde, Proude, Prud, Prowght, Prat, Prate, Prow, de Prus, de Probus, de Pratellis, &c. In 1461 John Prowght was elected to serve in Parliament for the borough of Reading, and i|i 1472 * John Prowde ' was elected, probably the same man. In 1487 William Prudde, one of the Yeomen of the Crown, had a grant of a messuage in Oxford, and in 1489 William Prudde was made comp- troller of the great and little customs and of the subsidy of wool, leather, and woolfels, and of tonnage and poundage in the port of Pole (Poole). In 1502-3 * Harry, son of Thomas Prow,' was buried at St Lawrence's Church, Reading, with his wife Elizabeth, and very likely he was son of Alionore Hance of Swallowfield by her first husband

' In December 1464 the Queen's jointure was fixed at 4,000 marks, Le. ;£2,333 6j. 8/il a year.

» Pat 5 Ed. IV. pt i. m. 5 ; Close Roll 5 Ed. IV. m. 19.

^ Richard Nevill, Earl of Warwick and Salisbury, married Lady Anne Beau- champ, heiress of her niece Anne, Countess of Warwick, who held half a fee in Swallowfield.

Swallowjield and the House of York 8i

Bedford, the wife of Richard WoodviUe, had procured the love of the King for her daughter through witchcraft, so much so that the said Duchess of Bedford addressed a petition to the King to exonerate her from these accusations.

The following curious account is found in the Rolls of Parliament of the 9th Edward IV. : — 1470

* To the Kyng oure Soveraygne Lord ; shewith and lament- ably complayneth unto your hignes your humble and true liege- woman Jaquet duchesse of Bedford, late the wyf of your true and faithfuU knyght and liegeman Richard, late Erie of Ryvers, that where shee at all tyme hath, and yit doth, treuly beleve on God accordyng to the feith of Holy Chirche, as a true cristen woman owith to doo, yet Thomas Wake, squier, of his malicious disposicion towards your said oratrice of long tyme continued, entendyng not oonly to hurt and apaire her good name and feme, but also purposed the fynall distruccion of her persone, and to that effecte caused her to be brought in a comune noyse and disclaundre of wychecraft thorouout a grete part of this youre reaume, surmything that she shuld have usid wichecraft and sorcerie, in somuche as the said Wake ^ caused to be brought to Warrewyk atte your last beyng there, Soveraigne Lord, to dyvers of the lords thenne beyng ther present, a image of lede made lyke a man of armes, conteynyng the lengthe of a mannes fynger, and broken in the myddes, and made fast with a wyre, sayying that it was made by your said oratrice to use with the said wichecraft and sorsory, where she, ne noon for her ne be her, ever sawe it, God knowith. And over this, the said Wake, for the perfourmyng of his malicious

^ Thomas Wake, who brought forward this ridiculous charge of sorcery, was a Northamptonshire squire.

82 Swallowfield and its Owners

entent abovesaid, entreted oon John Daunger, parish clerk of Stoke Brewerne, in the county of Northampton, to have said that there were two other images made by your said oratrice, oon for you, Souveraigne Lord, and another for oure Soveraigne Lady the Quene.*

The petition goes on to say that the accusers were commanded to attend the great Council in Parliament, and after they were examined by the Bishop of Carlisle, the Earl of Northumberland, and Lords Hastings and Mountjoye, the Duchess declares she was * clerid and declared of the said noises and disclaundres, which as yet remaygneth not enacted ; for so much as divers lords were absent/ And she entreats the king * to commaunde the same to be enacted in the grete counsaill so as the same her declaration may allway remaigne there of record, and that she may have it exemplified under the grete seall/

Shortly after we find that the Earl of Warwick was prevailed upon to agree to a minute acquitting the Duchess of the charge of witchcraft.^ 1483 At the death of Edward IV. in 1483, Elizabeth his widow

Tynvhit ceased to have her annuity from Swallowfield, and the same year King Richard III. granted this manor and lands &c. to Sir William Tirwhitte or Tyrwhitt, who was his * armiger de corpore.' The grant styles him * dilectus serviens noster, Willus Tyrwhit, unus armigerorum de corpore nostro.' ^

He was the eldest son of Sir Robert Tyrrwhit of Ketilby,

^ The charges against the Duchess of Bedford were renewed after Edward I V.'s death, as we find in the * Act for the Settlement of the Crown upon the King and his issue' (Rot Pari, i Rich. III., printed in the Rolls of Parliament^ vol. vi.) and the Queen herself was also accused of witchcraft by the Protector, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who charged her with having caused his left arm to wither.

' Lansdowne MSS.

Kt.

Swallowfield and the House of York 83

by his wife Jane, daughter of Sir Richard Waterton of Methley, and was born In 1456. During his ownership of Swallowfield WiUiam Tyrwhitt had by royal grant the office of Seneschal of the Lordship of Caistor, county Lincoln, for his life.

After the accession of Henry VIL, * Swalowfielde,' as we find 1485 it now written, was re-granted, inter aliuy to the King's mother- Queeii in-law, the Dowager Queen Elizabeth, for life, as part of her ^J^^f^^ dower,^ and John Penycoke was probably reinstated there, as ville this year his attainder was reversed and his possessions restored. In the Bill he is called * John Pennicok, late of Weybridge, in Surrey.*

But the following year the Dowager Queen's jointure lands i486 were again taken from her,^ and were given to the Queen, her Elizabeth daughter.^ The former then retired to the Abbey of Ber- ^^^^^^ mondsey with a pension of four hundred marks, which the King soon after augmented to ;^400, and she stayed there till her death in 1492.

Richard Smyth, who was Yeoman of the Robes to Elizabeth of York, Henry VIL's Queen, was now appointed * Parker and Paler ' or Bailiff of the Manor of Swallowfield, which had passed into her possession. And in December 1487 we find mention of 1487 a grant (* in consideraciun of the true and feithfulle service whiche oure well-beloved Richard Smythe, Yeoman of the Robes withe oure derrist wif, the Quene, hathe doone unto us, and during his lif entenethe to doe, of the herbage and pannage of the park of Wedgenock or Weggenok (co. Warwick), during the minority of

* Harl. 33, Art. 1277.

' Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV., bom 1465. She is described as tall and fair, and with long golden hair. She died at the age of thirty-eight, and her effigy is in Westminster Abbey.

* The grant recites, inter alia^ * the Manor of Swalowfeld.* P. S. No. 759 ; Pat. p. m. 25 and 24.

G 2

84 Swallowjield and its Owners

Edward, Earl of Warwick, to his own proper use, without therefore paying anything to the King/ ^

In the book of accounts of the Treasury of England are numerous items of silks and of satins bought by Richard Smythe

* for the use of the lady, the Queene,* and also many curiously described articles, furs of all kinds entering largely in the list ; thus we find * tymbres of whole ermyns,' * pane of ermyns,' and

* purfylle of ermyns,' and the same of * large and small menever,* as well as * menever leteux.* Then there are * furrures of bise,* and * sables,' and * martrons,' skins of bogy and • panes of boge,* and furrure of * shanks of bogy' as well as ^pampiliones of bogy ' ^ and * furrures of black and white lamb and mynkes.'

1502 In the Privy Purse expenses of Queen Elizabeth of York, the following items paid by Richard Smyth occur : on June 1 502, * to a servaunt of Richard Smyth in reward for bringing a fawne from the parke of Swalofield to the Quene at Richemount, 3J. 4//.,' and on 6th July * to the undrekepers of Swalowfield for the bringing of three bukkes from Swalowfield and Windesore, 65. %d^ On the 28th of September same year to Richard Smyth, Yeoman of Robes, * for money by him payed for a plyte * of lawnde for a shirte for the Childe of Grace at Reding 55.^ and for making of the same shirte 4^., and for offering to our Lady of Cawsham 4^. by the Queen's commaundements.' ^

There are many items which mark this Queen's kindness and generosity ; thus we find Richard Smyth paying this year for * cv

^ P. S. No. 959 ; Pat p. 8, m. i6 (9) ; p. 3 m. 4 (24).

9 < Bogy 'or 'boge' was lambskin with the wool dressed outwards, Anglice ' budge.' Hence the name of the street in the City, Budge Row.

* The word * plight ' occurs in the statute respecting lawns in 1463, so it was probably a measure then in use.

* On April 2 this year, Prince Arthur died ; his mother was inconsolable, and this offering * for the Childe of Grace ' was probably a votive offering.

* Cawsham or Caversham.

LIZABETK OF YORK

i/wm/ Porlrall Caller]:, iji on HtttiMtm fifftr.

Swallowfield and tJie House of York 85

yerdes di of cloth at iiiJ5. \\\]d. the yerde which was given to divers personnes by the Quene's commaund*/ and ^ cxj yerdes of cloth for xxxvii poure women for the Quene's maunye, every woman iii yerdes at 2i. 7^. the yerd.' And for M3 yerdes of cloth delivered by the commandement of the Queen to a woman that was nurse to the Prince, brother to the Quene's Grace ; and 3 yerdes to the sister of Sir Roger Cotton.* *

Among the receipts of Richard Decons, officer of the Signet, *5<» for 1502, we find, under the head of * Swalowfelde,' one of Richard Smyth, bailifF there, of the issues and revenues of the same lordship * for a yere ended at Miguelmas last passed, £^\ 1 6 J. \d^

Richard Smyth appears to have been a very devout man. In 1493, he was one of the ten persons calling themselves *the Brethren of the Mass of Jesus,' a Guild founded by Henry Kelsall, clothier, of Reading. The latter left at his decease that same year 6j. %d, to the church of * Swallowfelde,' and 6j. %d. to the church at * Shenyngfeld.'

Richard Smyth was a great benefactor to the church of St. 1503 Lawrence in Reading. In the inventory of the plate of that church, made in 1503, we find *a corpax cace,^ the one syde of cloth of gold, and the other syde of Wax velvett w* tres of gold and silver, the ^^ of Quene Elizabeth by the p'curing of Mr. Richard Smyth, yoman of the Quenys robys, w' iiij®' knoppis of silver, w* a corpas cloth to the same.'

^ When Lord Courtenay, who had married Princess Catherine, the Queen's sister, was sent to the Tower by Henry VII., the Queen took charge of his three young children and put them under the care of Margaret Cotton, sister of Sir Roger Cotton, her Master of the Horse. They resided with her at the house of Sir John Hussey, near Havering atte Bower, which place the Queen was fond of visiting. Edward, the yoimgest of these children, died young ; Margaret died at Colcolm, in Devonshire, when she was fifteen years old, being choked by a fishbone ; and Henry, the eldest, lived to be executed by Henry VIII.

^ Or corporass case.

86 Swallowjield and its Owners

Richard Smyth^s wife also appears to have taken an interest in St. Lawrence's Church, for she stood *God-moder' at the ^ consecracyon of the tenour bell named " Harry," ' erected in 1498 at the expense of Henry Kelsall, and she joined with her husband in presenting a * canapye of crimson velvett imbroidred w* gold flowers and the Holy Lambe in the mydle/

She is probably the * Mis~. Smyth * who was buried at St. Lawrence's Church, Reading, in 1522-3.

Elizabeth of York, Henry VIL's Queen, to whom Swallow- field had been granted in i486, died in 1503, and the next mention we have of the manor is on the accession of 1509 Henry VIIL in 1509, when we find that * the King, in anticipa-

of Aragon tion of his marriage' (so the words run), 'granted to Katherine, of wSes Princess of Wales, in dower for her life,^ inter aliuy the Lordship and Manor of Swallowfield, Westebrok, and . • . in Berks.' ^

Richard Smyth, who had been BailiflT at Swallowfield for Queen Elizabeth of York, was now reappointed Yeoman of the Robes to the King and * Keeper of the park of Swallowfeld, Berks, and Paler of the same, also BailiflT and Collecter of the Lordship of Swalowfield for life,' and at the same time he was made steward of Caversham,^ and ^ Customer and Collector of dues for weighing wools and fleeces in the town of Calais.' * 151 1 Richard Smyth appears to have died in 151 1, and to have

been succeeded by his son Richard as Yeoman of the Robes and BailiflT of Swallowfield, and his son also took his place as Burgess

* In the Pat. of Queen Katharine's jointure, made unto her by Henry VIIL, there were assigned to her so many manors as yielded yearly a certain rent, cum reprisis, the sum of ;f 3,316, the sum total of her jointure being ;f 5,500. (Cecil Papers.)

a Pat. I Hen. VIIL p. i, m. 8. • Itid, p. i, m. 5.

* * Denarii collecti pro renovacione carte virtute Uttere patentis domini Regis Hen. VIIL anno secundo— de Ricardo Smyth, xi'.*

Swatlowfield and the House of York 87

for the Borough of Reading/ and in 15 13 he was given a grant 1513 of two custodies in the Monastery of Abingdon.

He continued to be the same benefactor to the Church of St. Lawrence, in Reading, as his father had been. In the inventory of the plate of that church made in 15 18 we read : 15 18 ^ Item two books, a gospello and a pistello, the one side covered with silver parcell gilt with images upon the same, and the other side with bosses of silver, weighing in all one hundred and thirty- four oz., the gift of Mr. Richard Smyth, Yeoman of the Robes with our Sovereign Lord the King.* Also ^ item two basons of silver weighing forty-eight and a half oz., the gift of Mr. R. Smith.' «

Also in the Inventory of Vestments, we find presented by him, * A sewte of black velvett w* garters,* and ^ iij w* vest- ments w* thappell of whit satin, a brydg w* orfrey ' of grene saten, ij copes of satten russet and crane, the orfrey red damaske and satten, ij copes of satten, a bryges white and grene paned with orfrey of tawney saten.* Also ^ many awter clothes of velvett and satten, and a cushion of crane col. saten.'

Richard Smyth was the last Roman Catholic who was placed in possession at Swallowfield.^ The next Bailiff, 1522, as we 1522-3 shall see, was not only a Protestant, but was employed by Henry VIII. to dispose of the church property which he had seized.

^ < Nomina Burgensium qui fines non fecenint ad hunc diem : Ricardus Smyth, valectus garderobe robarum domini Regis.'

^ It was probably his son Richard Smythe who married Mary, daughter of John Bucklande, of the parish of St Lawrence.

• Orfrey or orphrey.

88 Swallowfield and its Owners

CHAPTER X

SWALLOWFIELD THE DOWRY OF TUDOR QUEENS

Throughout the reign of Henry VIII. certain lands designated as ^Queen's Lands* were granted successively to the several Queens of that Monarch, and amongst them the Lordship and Manor of Swallowfield is invariably named. 1533 Thus in 1533 the King granted in dower to Anne (Boleyn),

Boleyn^ then Queen Consort, ^ the same lands that were enjoyed by the

Princess Katharine, late wife of our new Prince of Wales.' ^ 1536 The same grant of dower was made after marriage to the

Seymour L^dy Jane (Seymour), Queen Consort, and next to the Lady Q. Anne Anne (of Cleves), from whom the King was shortly after

Oi dcves

divorced ; but with regard to the latter, in consequence of the

nobility of her stock, and for the support of her estate, the King

made * a grant to her of lands in Essex and other counties, but

not including Swallowfield.'

1 541 In 1 54 1 the King, having married Katharine Howard,

rine granted in dower to her, as Queen Consort, * the several castles,

lordships, manors, &c., which had been assigned to the Lady

Jane, late Queen of England.'

1543-4 Next, the King, after his marriage with Katharine Parr,

Queen . ,

Kath. granted dower to her, which dower included the Manor and ^" Park of Swallowfield.

Christopher Lytcott, Esquire, Henry VIII.'s Bailiff at Swal-

^ Pat. R. 25 Hen. VIII. pt. 2, m. i.

Uiaiutl Purlrill OalleiJ, h *

Swalloiufield the Dowry of Tudor Queens 89

lowfield at this time, held a lease of the place, * to hold for 60 years, paying yearly for the past twenty-one years ^^6 I2J, 9^., and during the remainder of the term ^^13 4^.' ^ He was son of John Lytcott of Rushcombe, Berks, by his wifo^ Julian, daughter of John Barker of Wokingham.

In the grant of 1543 we have another mention of a house at Swallowfield. The grant says : ^ The mansion, lodge, or dwelling-house of Swallowfelde with all meadows, pastures, woodlands, and lowlands as then enclosed, called the " parke of Swallowfelde," lately disparked, viz. thirty acres of pasture called ** Newlandes," twenty-four acres in a corner of the park on the south side from the church way, called ".Martyn's Corner," a hundred and ten acres of pasture lying from the said way under the end of the launde between the gate and dwelling-house, one hundred and twenty acres of pasture from the said dwelling- house up to the pale. A meadow near the park pale, called " Parke Meade," and also all that close called " Courte Garden " containing four acres in which a Manor house there hath been builded.' Christopher Litcott has also a lease of a fulling mill (or cloth mill) in Swallowfield, with * Milne Meade ' and ^ Milne Croft,' and the meadows called Parke Meade, Russhe Meade, and Common Meade, ^ to hold for twenty-one years at the yearly rent of thirty-six shillings.* ^

The grant goes on to say ^ that the Manor of Swallowfeelde is an entier manor and the parish of itselfe, and the ryver called Lodon devydethe the same manor from the manor of Shynfelde. And the patronage of the chirche belongthe to the Deane of HereflForde. And is dystaunte from the Kinge's Majestie's Castell of Wyndsor xiiij (14) myles, and from Redyng iiij (4) myles.'

* Pat R. 34 Hen. VIII. pt. 7. « Ibid, pt. 3, m. 28, 4.

90 Swallowjield and its Owners

1545 In 1545 Christopher Lytcott bought the Rectory and

Vicarage of Wargrave from the King for ^^3 7 8 4J., Lytcott hold- ing of the King and his successors, in capitey by the service of the 30th part of a knight's fee. Mr. Herbert Reid, in his ^ History of Wargrave/ says : ^ It is more than probable Litcote was the means employed for disposing of the Church property the King then had in such abundance, for we notice his name constantly recurring as having purchased similar properties direct from the Crown, retaining them, however, seldom more than a year or two. Such is the case with his purchase of Wargrave Vicarage. After holding possession for less than two years, he disposed of it at a considerably enhanced price to George Kensham, gentleman.'

1548 Katharine Parr dying in 1548, Swallowfield devolved upon

King Edward VI., and Christopher Lytcott continued there as BailiiF.

1553 Sir Edward VI. sold Swallowfield in 1553 to the aforementioned pher Christopher Lytcott and Katharine,^ his wife, for ^^783 8j. 2^d.

^ ^^ The Manor of Swallowfield was rated together with the Manor of Shenfelde at twenty-five years' purchase, but, in consequence of a letter received from the Marquis of Northampton (Katharine Parr's brother) the Manor of Shinfelde was appointed to remain in the King's hand ^ because it doethe lye nighe the King's parke of Whitley.' This appears to have been the first severance of the two manors.

1554 Christopher Lytcott died December 3, 1554,^ and was buried

^ Katharine, daughter of Robert Cheney of Chesham Boyes, Bucks, who was son of John Cheney of Drajrton Beauchamp. Thomas Cheyney of Drajrton Beau- champ was shield-bearer to Edward III.

^ In the inquisition taken after his death, Christopher Lytcott is said to have died seised in fee of the lordship and manor of Swallowfelde, and the park of Swallowfelde then disparked, twenty messuages, &c«

Swallowfield the Dowry of Tudor Queens 91

at Swallowfield, where there is a good brass to his memory. Ashmole thus described it : * At the east end of the chancel lyes a gravestone, bearing some brass plates, whereon, under the feet of a man in armour, and a woman in her usual habit, is this following inscribed :

Wliat I am thou seeist,

What I have been thou knowest ;

As I am thou shalt be.

What thou art, remember this.

Christopher Lytcott, Esquire, deceased the 3rd day of December, A.D. 1554. On whose soule Jhesu have mercy. Who married Katherine, the daughter of Robert Chene, of Chesham Boyes, in the county of Bucks, Esq. ; and had by her three sons and one daughter, John, Leonard, Christopher, and Dorothy.'

Under this inscription are the figures of the three sons and daughter, standing with their hands erect, andjoyned in the posture of praying.' ^

Haines, in his * Monumental Brasses,* says : * The figure of Christopher Lytkot, Esquire, 1554, at Swallowfield, Berks, affords a good representation of the military equipment depicted on brasses just after the middle of the century ; the breast-plate is now generally without placcates, and has the tapul or projecting edge formerly in fashion ; the mail skirt has an indented edge, frills are worn at the wrists, and the skirt of taces is divided at the lower part by an arched opening between the tuiles.*

He also says : * The costume worn from the time of King Edward VI. until the earliest part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth is well illustrated by the effigy of Katherine Lytkott at Swallowfield. The centre of the " Paris head " is depressed ;

^ The shield upon the brass is sem^e of escallops ; 2 bendlets ; in chief 3 castles : quartering or, a chief sable 3 tilting spears pale wise, heads in chief counter- changed.

92 SwalloWjfield and its Owners

the gown has an opening up the front, tied with bows in the

upper part ; collar of fur ; sleeves puffed and slashed on the

shoulders.' 1554 Katherine Lytcott, who survived her husband, held Swallow-

rine fi^^d ^ for her life by right of accruer, with reversion after her

Lytcott (Jeath to John Lytcott her son, aged thirteen July 24 1554.'^ 1567 She died at Swallowfield in 1567, when her eldest son John Lytcot Lytcott, then twenty-six years of age, * had a licence of entry

into the manor &c. of Swallowfield, granted to him.' ^ 1573 In 1573 he mortgaged it to Thomas Pope,^ but in 1574 he

'574 redeemed it and was re-seised in his former estate,* but the same

day he resold the manor to John Cade ^ and his heirs, whereupon

John Cade entered on the same.^

1 581 In 1 58 1 John Litcott and John Cade, by another indenture, sold to Anthony Higgins, who thereupon entered and was seised of the manor &c. in fee.^

1582 Afterwards John Litcott, John Cade, and Anthony Higgins, by indenture, dated November 30, 1582, sold to Samuel Backhouse, and he became thereby seised in fee of the Manor of Swallowfield.

John Litcott of Swallowfield had a son, John Litcott *of Moulsey,' (Molesey), born 1575, who served in his youth in the wars in Ireland, * with the highest reputation,' and was knighted by King James L He married Mary, daughter of Sir Nicholas Overbury of Bourton (or Burton-on-Hill), Gloucester, and out of this marriage comes his connection with one of the most remarkable causes UUbres.

In 1606 a marriage, arranged by James I., took place between

^ See Inq. i and 2 Philip and Mary, No. 9, taken after the death of Christopher Lytcote at Abingdon, April 30, 1555.

* Pat. 9 Eliz. pt. 2 Ro. 19. ' Citizen and Merchant-Tailor of London.

* Close Roll, 15 Eliz. pt. 25. * Of Aldenham, Hertford.

« Close Roll, 16 Eliz. pt. 7. ' Close Roll, 24 Eliz. pt 12.

I !■/ IValllr, in til icI/Kt

Swallowfield the Dowry of Tudor Queens 93

Lady Frances Howard, daughter of the Earl of SuflFolk, and Robert Devereux, third Earl of Essex.' ^ The ceremony took place at Whitehall with unusual splendour, Inigo Jones supplying the mise-en-scine^ and Ben Jonson, in beautiful verse, eulogising the handsome couple in fallacious prophecies.

As the bride was only thirteen and the bridegroom fourteen, the latter was sent abroad for four years. During his absence, his bride developed into one of the most beautiful and at the same time one of the most depraved women of the day. At the date of his return she had for her lover Sir Robert Carr, the King's handsome favourite, and when her husband took her off to live with him she at once set to work to contrive his death.

At first she tried to attain her object through the assistance of sundry practitioners of the Black Art. Dr. Simon Forman, a well-known astrologer and magician, undertook to give some- thing which would intensify Sir Robert Carr's love for her, and other magical devices were to be used to undermine her husband's health. Lord Essex, however, showed no signs of illness, and shortly after Dr. Forman died.

Lady Essex then, finding that sorcery and witchcraft had not relieved her of her husband, managed with the help of the King and some of the Bishops to get a divorce, and immediately after married Carr, who was created for the occasion Earl of Somerset. The same Bishop (Bath and Wells) who had married the bride seven years before to her first husband officiated at this second event,^ which was made the occasion of still greater rejoicings than the former had been. The bride and bridegroom received the most magnificent presents from all

^ The Earl of Essex commanded the Parliamentary Army at Edgehill ; he died in 1646, when the Earldom of Essex became extinct.

' ' The Dean of Westminster preached and bestowed a great deal of commenda- tion on the young couple.' (John Chamberlain's letters.)

94 Swallowfield and its Owners

the Court sycophants, Coke, the Lord Chief Justice, giving them gold articles, and Lord Bacon paying two thousand pounds for the * Masque of Flowers,' given in their honour, and performed by the members of Gray's Inn.

The bride, who was now only twenty, was, we are told, married * in her hair,' that is to say, her hair (which was very beautiful and long) hanging down to her feet, which was the fashion of the day for girl-brides. One who knew her thus writes : * Those who saw her face, might challenge Nature of too much hypocrisy for harbouring so wicked a heart under so sweet and bewitching a countenance.'

Meanwhile Sir Thomas Overbury, a man of some genius, and a poet,^ brother-in-law of Sir John Lytcot, had used all his influence with Carr, who had long been his most intimate friend, to prevent him from marrying Lady Essex. He failed in his purpose and sealed his own doom, as he incurred the anger of the King, who, for some unknown reason, backed up this divorce and second marriage, and he also roused the revenge of the shameless Countess.

The King tried in the first instance to get rid of Sir Thomas by offering him a diplomatic post at Moscow, and then, when he refused it,^ sent him to the Tower for * contempt.' Three months later the unfortunate man, who had been ailing for some time, was found dead in his bed, from the effect of poison administered to him, at the instigation, there is no doubt, of Lady Somerset.

It was not until two years afterwards that any suggestions of poisoning were openly made. In the summer of 1615,

^ Sir Thomas wrote a fine poem called * The Wife.' Lord Bacon said of him, * His mind was great, and certainly it did commonly fly at good things.'

^ It was said that Lord Somerset persuaded him to refuse the appointment, in hopes that he would be sent to the Tower.

FRANCES, COUNTESS OF ESSEX From a picture belonging to the present Earl of Essex,

Swallowfield the Dowry of Tudor Queens 95

owing to the deathbed confession of an apothecary's boy, such serious rumours were set afloat, implicating so many persons, that the King appointed a Commission to investigate the matter, consisting of the Lord Chancellor Ellesmere, Chief Justice Coke, the Duke of Lenox, and Lord Zouch. They found that Sir Thomas Overbury had died of poison (introduced into his food), supplied by Franklin, an apothecary, taken to the Tower by Mrs. Turner, Lady Somerset's confidante, and administered by Richard Weston, the under-gaoler. Sir Gervas Helwysse, the Governor, being cognisant of the same.

Mrs. Turner ^ confessed her crime and was hanged at Tyburn. She had introduced the fashion of yellow-starching the large ruffs and cuflTs then in vogue, and Coke, in sentencing her, ordered that she should be hanged in one, * so that the same might end in shame and detestation.' We are told that though she * made a very penitential end, she dressed herself specially, and her face was highly rouged.'

Franklin and Weston were also hanged. The former said that he had prayed to be excused on his bended knees, but that the Countess, who was able to bewitch any man, had urged him two hundred times to bring the poisons,^ and had tempted him with large bribes.

Weston sent for Sir Thomas Overbury's father, and, falling on his knees, asked for his forgiveness and his wife's. At

^ Mrs. Turner had been the waiting-woman or companion of Lady Somerset. She was a beautiful woman, and had married a physician, but was now a widow, and the mistress of Sir Arthur Mainwaring. She lived in Paternoster Row, and it was there that the Countess of Essex used to meet Somerset, and that the poisoning of Sir Thomas Overbury was planned.

* By the evidence produced it appears that at least eight different substances were at intervals mixed with Sir Thomas's food, Le, white arsenic, diamond dust, aquafortis (nitric acid), lapis cortilis, great spiders, cantharides, rose aker or rose algar (probably realgar or arsenic sulphide), and mercury sublimate. It was sup- posed that it was a second administration of the latter poison that killed him.

96 Swallowjield and its Owners

his execution a distinguished company assembled at Tyburn to hear his last words, and when it appeared that he was going to die without making any further disclosures, some of them asked Weston whether he had poisoned Sir Thomas or not. For this proceeding several persons, including Sir John Lytcott, were committed to prison. Lord Bacon, who was then the King's Attorney-General, preparing the evidence against them. Sir John Lytcott ultimately petitioned for his enlargement, * the rather because by the continuance of his imprisonment there will come a perpetual blemish upon his reputation.' He had previously, in his evidence, affirmed that with Sir Robert Killegrew, a medical man, he visited his brother-in-law Overbury in the Tower, and found him * in a weak and evil plight.' Sir Thomas asked him, in a whisper, whether he thought that Rochester (/.^. Somerset) did not juggle with him, to which Lytcott answered he thought not. The Governor saw them whispering, and in consequence, when Sir John returned again to visit his brother-in-law, he was denied, and told his warrant was countermanded. Sir Gervase Helwysse,^ the Governor of the Tower, was also convicted and hanged. A letter was produced, written to him by Lady Somerset (then Lady Essex), in which she says : ^ If he (meaning Sir Thomas) should send this tart and jelly and wine to your wife, then you must take the tart from her and the jelly, but the wine she may drink it if she will, for in that there are no letters,^ I know, but in the tart and jelly I know there is.' ^

^ The name appears in many ways : Elwaies, Eluishe, Elvys, Yelvis, Helwise, Helwys, Helwash, Helluish, and Hellwish, and is generally written * Elwes,' but the Governor wrote his name * Helwysse.*

' In her examination Lady Somerset said * letters' was *the jargon for poison.'

' Lord and Lady Somerset were in the habit of sending Sir Thomas delicacies and luxuries to eat as well as medicines.

Swallowfield the Dowry of Tudor Queens 97

The trial of the Countess of Somerset was delayed in consequence of her situation, and her only child was born in the Tower.^ She was tried by Sir Francis Bacon, and pleaded guilty, having been given to understand that if she did so her life would be spared. Her trial attracted a crowded audience, which included her first husband, and immense prices were given for admittance to Westminster Hall. Lady Somerset was dressed in * black tammel, a cypress chaperon, and cobweb lawn ruff and cuffs,' and her youth and beauty and demeanour, we are told, produced such an effect on those who were present that, according to Camden, *all pitied her.' On being asked what she had to say, she replied * humbly and fearfully,' * I can much aggravate, but nothing extenuate my fault. I desire mercy, and that the Lords will intercede for me to the King.' She was condemned to be hanged, and taken back to the Tower ; but after being a short time under the charge of Sir William Smith at Blackfriars, she was set free and allowed to live in retirement.

The Earl, who was convicted of being an accessory before the fact, was also condemned to be hanged, but his life was spared. He was kept in the Tower for five years, and then confined in the house of Viscount Wallingford ^ at Causham (or Caversham) from 1 62 1 to 1624, when he was pardoned and released. He and his wife took a loathing for each other and ultimately separated. She died in 1621, aged 28, and he in 1645. Their only child,

^ She was named Anne, and married William Russell, the fifth Earl of Bedford.

' William Knollys, created Earl of Banbury in 1626, and died 1632, aged 88. His second wife, Lady Elizabeth Howard, survived him and re-married Edward fourth Baron Vaux. In a few years she brought forward two sons who were bom during her marriage with Lord Banbury, and tried to set them up as his sons ; but they had been at first called Vaux by her, and were presumed to be the issue of her second husband, who left them his estates. From this arose the celebrated contest for the Banbury peerage.

H

98 Swallowfield and its Owners

Lady Ann Carr, who was as remarkable for her virtues as her mother had been otherwise, was brought up in utter ignorance of the story of her parents, till one day she read it in a pamphlet which she accidentally got hold of. It is said that she was so horrified at the revelation that she fell down in a fit and was found senseless, with the book before her. She married William Russell, the eldest son of Francis, Earl of Bedford. The latter was so averse to the marriage that he refused his consent, saying that he gave his son leave to marry out of any family but that one. * At length,' says Pennant, * the King interposed, and sending the Duke of Lenox to urge the Earl to consent, he ultimately gave way. Somerset, now reduced to poverty, acted a generous part, selling his house at Chiswick, plate, jewels, and furniture to raise, for his daughter, a fortune of ^ 1 2,000 (which the Earl of Bedford demanded), saying that, since her aflFections were settled, he chose rather to undo himself than make her unhappy.* Lady Anne made a perfect wife and lived in great happiness with her husband, who was in 1694 created Duke of Bedford. She had ten children, one of whom was the celebrated patriot, Lord William Russell.

^hd In JtrhK HxiiiiH, i» Iht Nalhmd ForlrmI Calltry.

99

CHAPTER XI

THE FAMILY OF BACKHOUSE

Samuel Backhouse, who bought Swallowfield in 1582, was 1582 a wealthy merchant of London. He was born in 1554, and was Back- the eldest son of Nicholas Backhouse/ Alderman and Sheriff of ^"*® London 1577-80, by his first wife Anne, daughter of Thomas Curzon of Croxall, Derbyshire, and grandson of Thomas Back- house of Whiterigg,^ co. Cumberland, by his wife Eleanor, daughter of John Parkyn or Perkins of Hartloe (or Hartle), Cumberland. The Backhouses were of ancient and honourable descent, but the origin of their name seems undecided, it being doubtful whether it is, as some say, from the aristocratic *de Bayeux,' passing through the various forms of *Bageous,' or simply from the plebeian * bakehouse.*

Samuel Backhouse had married, the year before he purchased Swallowfield, Elizabeth, daughter of John Borlase of Little Marlow,^ by Anne, daughter and heir of Sir Richard Lytton.

^ In the College of Arms we find that Nicholas Backhouse had his arms found out, conformed, quartered, and allowed by Gilde Nischt, Principal King at Arms, and Garter, on February 20, 1579.

' Whiteriggs in the township of Anthom, in the parish of Bowness-on-Solway. There is a cross there of interlaced Celtic work, called < Anthom Cross,' on the spot where, according to an ancient legend, a Backhouse killed a Douglas in 1300. Backhouses still live at a house called Whiterigg Hall, overlooking Whiterigg Marsh.

' John Borlase, of ancient Cornish family, purchased in 1560 Little Marlow and Medmenham.

H 2

loo Swallowjield and its Owners

The marriage took place at Little Marlow on September 6, 1 58 1, and their first-born child, Anne, was baptized at Swallowfield the following year.

Although Samuel Backhouse appears to have taken pos- session of Swallowfield in 1582, the acquisition having been made without the Queen's licence, litigation concerning it went on, more or less, for six years. For a fine of ^ 1 1 45. he obtained

1586 pardon by the Royal letters patent dated May 5, 1586, wherein the Queen granted that he might hold the manor &c. * to him, his heirs and assigns, without hindrance.' ^ Nevertheless, the

1587 following year a writ of distringas was directed to the Sheriff ot Berkshire, ordering him to distrain on Samuel Backhouse as tenant of the lands &c. which were of John Litcott, Esq., son and heir of Christopher Littcotte, deceased, and which by the death of Christopher came into the Queen's hands. Samuel Backhouse was ordered to come to the Court of Exchequer in eight days from Michaelmas and do homage to the Queen, and also to show by what title he held the premises. Accordingly,

1588 on April 22, 1588, Samuel Backhouse came in person and complained of the seizing of the manor. Having stated the facts, judgment was given in his favour by the Barons, and an order made for his discharge, saving always to the Queen the homage and fealty due.

Samuel Backhouse seems to have been greatly loved by his relations and respected by his friends, and he entertained both largely. We find mention of visits from his brother-in-law. Sir William Borlace ; his brother, Rowland Backhouse ; ^ his cousin,

^ Pat R. 28 Eliz. pt. 4.

' Rowland Backhouse, of Widford, Herts, and Cheapside, born 1558, was Alderman and Sheriff of London, and had a long and eventful life. When past eighty he was seized at the House of Commons and conveyed to the Tower for having been concerned in some Royalist outbreak. He married Elizabeth

t

k

Owen Waller, of London.

Emma, d^ [ordan,

4

Mary Backhouse, = Sir William Borlase, of Med- She died of the nienham, Sheriff of Bucks, 43

Eliz., M.P. for Aylesbur)' and for Wycombe. Died 1628 ; buried at Litlle Marlow.

plague at Mar- low in 1625.

Sir William Borlase, of Marlow and Brock mer ; ob. 1629.

Amy, d. of Sir ?>ancis Popham of Little- cole.

I

Anne = Thos. Chester, of Eliz. Almondesbury, CO. Gloucester.

Sir John Borlase, = cr. Bt. 1642, ob, 1672.

I William Borlase, M.P.

for Marlow, ob. 1665.

Sir John Borlase, 2nd Bart., ob. 1688, when the Iwronetcy expired.

Alicia Borlase = John Wallop,

of Farley Wallo| CO. Southamptoj

I John Wallop,

(3rd son) cr. Earl of Portsmouth,

b, 1690.

.1 John Wallop, Viscount Lymington =

John Wallop, 2nd Earl of Portsmouth =

Newton Wallop, 4th Earl of Portsmouth. Took the name of Fellowcs.

I

Isaac Newton Wallop, 5th Earl of Portsmouth =

Newton Wallop, 6th Earl of I'ortsmouth =

The Family of Backhouse loi

Sir Dudley Carleton ; ^ John Chamberlain ; * Sir Rowland Lytton, his wife's cousin ; Sir Anthony Cope and his son, Sir William Cope ; and Mr. Neville of BiUingbear, &c.

Samuel Backhouse was High Sheriff of Berks in 1598, and 1598 the following year his name appears as providing * one lance and '599 two light horse ' for * the Voluntary Horse.' He was again nominated High Sheriff of Berks in 1601, in which year Queen 1601 Elizabeth visited Reading, and Mr. Backhouse had to go in state to meet her. The following letter, dated September 19, 1 60 1, from John Chamberlain to Mr. Carleton, alludes to this ever^t :

* Our frend the Sheriffe of Barkshire was almost out of hart at the first newes of the Quene's comming into the country because he was altogether unacquainted with courting, but yet he performed it very well and sufficiently, being exceedingly well horsed and attended, which won him great commendation on all sides. The Quene's first remove from Windsor was to Mr. Warde's, then to Reading. During her abode there she went one day to dinner to Mr. Controller's^ at Causham. Mr.

daughter and heir of Bartholomew Barnes of St. S within, who died in 1664, aged ninety-five. He himself died in 1648, aged ninety. They had seven children, the eldest of whom, Nicholas Backhouse, was father of Sir William Backhouse, Bart., who became owner of Swallowfield in 1663.

* Sir Dudley Carleton was the son of Anthony Carleton of Baldwin-Brightwell, near Watlington, Oxon, where he was bom in 1572. In 1602 he accompanied Sir Thomas Parry, Ambassador to the Court of France, as secretary, and in 1610 he himself was sent as Ambassador to Venice and was knighted. He was after- wards Ambassador to the States General and to France in the reign of Charles I., whose confidence and favour he enjoyed in a very high degree.

* John Chamberlain, the Horace Walpole of his day. His letters, written during the reign of Queen Elizabeth^ were published by the Camden Society in 1861.

* Sir Francis KnoUes or KnoUys, Comptroller of the Household. He married Catherine, daughter of William Carey, by his wife, Lady Mary Boleyn, sister of Queen Anne. . .

I02 Swallowfield and its Owners

Green, SherifF of Oxfordshire, met her at the bridge, very well accompanied.'

Samuel Backhouse was elected member for Windsor with 1603-4 Thomas Durdent,^ in i James I., 1 603-1 604, and again in 1605 1 6 1 1 . In November, 1 605, Samuel Backhouse was greatly con- cerned at what befell his cousin and great friend Dudley Carleton. The latter, while making a tour abroad with Lord Norris, was summoned to England at the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot on suspicion of being implicated in it, he having been secretary to the Earl of Northumberland. He was put in confinement, but on clearing himself was released.

1607 1^ ^ ^07 Samuel Backhouse was chosen as one of the arbitra- tors in the great controversy concerning the estates of the Corbets of Moreton Corbet, Salop. Large estates were left by Sir Robert Corbet, who had no son, to his daughter Elizabeth, wife of Sir Henry Wallop of Farley, Hants (ancestor to the Earl of Portsmouth), but they were claimed by Sir Richard Corbet, K.B., his brother.^ Samuel Backhouse was related to the Corbets through his mother, Anne Curzon, and also through his wife, Elizabeth Borlase.

1608 The following is an extract from a letter written by Sir Dudley Carleton to John Chamberlain, dated * Eton, September 26, 1608 :'3

* I was at Swallowfield, cum impedimentisy where you were

^ Durdent or Durdant of Clewer. Thomas Durdant of Clewer, senior, made liis will in 1530. There was another Thomas Durdant of Clewer in 1555 and 1585, probably the member for Windsor.

* Sir Robert and Sir Richard Corbet were sons of Sir Andrew Corbet These Corbets were seated at Moreton Corbet in the commencement of the thirteenth century. The other arbitrators were Sir Randal Brereton, Sir Richard Powlet, Sir Rowland Litton, and Sir Roger Ovens. They made an award as specified in an indenture.

' Collection of letters published by Dr. Birch, illustrative of the reign of James I.

The Family of Backhouse 103

often and kindly remembered. • The master of that house is not a little perplexed in that the ill carriage of a matter that you wott of, sine intentione^ hath put all out of square between that house and Billingbere ; the gentlewoman that was in speach that way is to be married to Sir Richard Brooke.* The King was there lately and solemnly entertained, but was not so busy with the young wenches as the time before, having his head much troubled about the answear of his booke, which is lately come over, and done, as is thought, the most part by Parsons, though some of it by others, as may be seene by the difference of the stile.' *

Another letter written the following year from the same to 1609 the same alludes to Samuel Backhouse and hints at disagrdments between Swallowfield and Billingbere. It is as follows :

* Sir, — Now I am uppon cumming I wish myself every day with you, because the countrie growes pleasant, and if I should suffer the goode time of the year to growe upon me, I should the more unwillingly leave it. Wherefore, God willing, I will hold my purpose, and am now going a progress for two or three dayes to take leave of our neighbours ; as first of Sir Henry Nevill, whose Lady hath brought him another boy and hath thereby broken the ranks of five boys and as many wenches, but she deserves thanks for filling our countrie with so goode a name. The christening is tomorrow, and my cosen Backhouse is invited to be one of the godfathers, which comes well to pass to remove his jealousey of Sir Henry Neville and disaffection towards him.'

In 1 6 10 an inquisition was held at Wokingham, in pursuance 1610 of an Act of Parliament passed 1601 * to redress the misemploy-

' State Papers, Domestic, Jas. I., vol. xxxvi., no. 23. Probably Samuel Back- house had thought of an alliance between his son and one of the five daughters of Sir Henry Nevill.

* The Basilicon Doran,

I04 Swaliow/ield and its Owners

ment of lands, goods, and monies given to charitable uses,' and Samuel Backhouse was one of the Commissioners, the others being Sir Henry Nevill, the Revd. Rob. Wright, D.D., Francis More, and Anthony Blagrave.

Another letter from this same collection which mentions

1611 Samuel Backhouse, and which was written in i6ii by John

Chamberlain to Sir Dudley Carleton, seems worth quoting

as showing a curious belief extant at that time. The letter

says :

* My Lady Cope gives you many thanks for her trochises of vipers. We had a solemn supper there yesternight, which they would make me believe was for my coming here. There was Sir Anthony Cope ^ and Sir William ^ (his son). Sir Rowland Lytton,^ Sir William Borlase,* and Mr. Backhouse, &c.* The ' trochises ' of vipers were sent to cure some ailment. Lord Bacon alludes to a bracelet * made of the trochisk of vipers * which does * great good inwards, especially for pestilent agues.* ^ 1614-16 Again summoned to the Court of Exchequer, Samuel

Backhouse came in Hilary Term, 12 James L, and said that

^ Sir Anthony Cope, of Hanwell^ married firstly Frances, daughter of Sir Rowland Lytton of Knebworth ; and secondly Anne, daughter of Sir William Paston. Sir Anthony was one of the leaders of the early Puritans, and having in 1587 moved a petition in Parliament * that no other form of common prayer should be used other than what was contained ' in a book he presented to the House, he was com- mitted to the Tower. Queen Elizabeth, however, soon forgave him, and knighted him in 1590. In 1606 he entertained King James and his Queen at Hanwell, and was created a Baronet in 161 1.

^ Sir William Cope, son of Sir Anthony, married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir George Chaworth of Kiverton,

* Sir Rowland Lytton of Knebworth.

* Sir William Borlase, of Marlow and Brockmer, was nephew of Sir Rowland Lytton, and brother-in-law of Samuel Backhouse ; he married Amy, daughter of Sir Francis Popham of Littlecot.

* Sylva Sylvarum^ Cent. x. 965

The Family of Backhouse 105

the King granted licence to him to alien to Michael Pynder, Esq., and John Backhouse, gent., the Manor of Swallowfield, by fine on recovery, or otherwise, at his pleasure. Thereupon, by indenture between Samuel Backhouse and Michael Pynder of Gray's Inn and John Backhouse, it was agreed that a fine should be levied on the premises to the use of Samuel Backhouse.

In May 161 8, some of Samuel Backhouse's family went to 1618 Hartley to attend the marriage of Elizabeth, daughter of Sir William Pitt,^ of Hartley Wespall and Strathfield Saye, the bride- groom being Richard Wheeler, eldest son of Sir Edward Wheeler, Kt., of Riding Court, co. Bucks.

The following curious list of the items of expenditure &c. attending the marriage is at Swallowfield, in the handwriting of Sir William Pitt :

* Item 1 8 lobsters and 3 crabs from my uncle Pitt.

Item four inhaven conger eales, 300 of prawnes, 2 dozen and \ of lobsters, 6 crabs ; and 2 great lobsters and one crabbe sent from my tenant Bryne.

Given Sir Edward Moore's fishermen for six fayre troutes 5J.

Given my daughter to put in her purse £^ 2s.

Given Mr. Tylme's mayde for bride cakes 6s.

Goody Hawtrell's mayde 2s.

Mrs. Ffludde's man who brought chickens and mellons.

Mrs. Balle's men who brought a pike and a pea-hen 1 2 J.

Cousin Burye's mayde who brought chicken and ducklings 6d.

* Sir William Pitt, son of John Pitt, Clerk of the Exchequer, Ump, Elizabeth, was * Comptroller of the Household ' to James I. and Charles I. He married Edith, daughter and coheir of Nicholas Cadbury, of Ame in Wareham, Dorsetshire, and had three sons and four daughters. His eldest son, Edward, was father of the first Lord Rivers. Sir William had two brothers, John, who settled in Ireland, and Thomas of Blandford, a physician, who was grandfather of * Diamond ' Pitt, and great-great-grandfather of Lord Chatham.

1 06 Swallowjield and its Owners

The keeper's fee for a buck, in gold \\s.

From Sir Robert Oxenbridge 4 hearon sawes out of the nest.

Given Goody Wegge's mayde who brought pippins 6^.

Provisions from London.

Ten fat capons at 3 J. 4^...,33i. 4^.

Eight fat pullets at 2s. 4^/....i8j. Sd.

Six maribones.

Given Morrice the cooke for his services 40J.

For his journey 20s.

Paid Stiles the cooke to attend the range 1 6 j.

Paid two women to help in the kitchen 20s.

Given the Musitians 40J.

Five Sturgeon, i kegg.

Twenty-two green geese ioj.

Twenty four lbs. butter Ss. 9^.; 22 lbs. do. js. 4^.

Eggs 6d. Creame, 3 pints, 6d.

Pippins, 200, 2s, lod.

Rosting beife from Reading lis. lod.

One veale and a halfe, one lambe and a halfe, 29^. 6d.

One quarter of wheat for manchett, part my owne, 455. 4//.

Four rosting piggs "js. 6d.

Three sheepe killed, my owne, 6^s.

Claret wine i tierce.

Sacke 8 gallons.

Renesche wyne 2 gallons 2 quarts.

Whyte wyne 4 gallons 3 quarts.'

1626 The last thing we hear of Samuel Backhouse is that in 1626 he was one of the Commissioners who, when Parliament refused to grant any subsidies till their grievances were redressed, were

The Family of Backhouse 107

appointed to decide the amount which every landowner was to be persuaded, if not forced, to lend the King.^

Soon after this he died, in 1626, aged 72 years, and was buried at Swallowfield. He made his will on June 8, 1625, being * weake of body/ To his wife he left all his cattle and stock which he had on the ground at his decease, also the use of his plate and household furniture, which afterwards was to return to his executors ; to his daughter, Ann Chester, ;^ioo ; to his servant, John Wright, ;^20 ; to his ancient servant, John Webb, ;^io ; to his servant, Francis Jennings, £\o\ to the poor of Swallowfield, £^ ; to the poor of Wokingham, 40J. ; to each parish of Reading, 20J. ; and the residue of all his goods and chattels to his eldest son. Sir John Backhouse. In the presence of John Handman (minister), John Wright, and John Webb, proved 1626. (92 Hele. 149.) Samuel Back- house's widow, Elizabeth, survived him four years, dying February i, 1630, and was also buried at Swallowfield. Their grand-daughter. Flower, Lady Backhouse, had their remains interred in the vault now covered by the Russell Tribune, and she raised to their memory a handsome black and white marble monument which is on the wall of the said Tribune, Elizabeth Backhouse's will was dated 1628. She left to the poor of the parish of Swallowfield ;^io ; to John Handman, minister of Swallowfield, £^p and * the feather bed and bolster which he usually uses ; ' to her eldest son John, the silver bason and ewer which was given her by her mother as a legacy and £10 \ £/^o to her grandson, Samuel Bellingham ; ;^ 100 to her grand-daughter, Anne Chester ; to her servants, Jane and Edward Taylor, 40^. a year. Residue to her youngest sons Thomas, Nicholas, and William Backhouse.

^ Rymer, vol. viii. pt. 12, page 141.

io8 Swallowfield and its Owners

Samuel and Elizabeth Backhouse had four sons and four daughters : i. John (Sir), 2. Thomas, 3. Nicholas, and 4. Samuel, i. Anne, married to Thomas Chester of Agmondes- bury, CO. Gloucester ; 2. Elizabeth, married Bellingham of Bromley, co. Lincoln ; 3. Sara, buried at Swallowfield in 1615 ; 4. Mary, married to William Standen, Lord of the Manor of Arborfield, Barkham, &c., and Sheriff of Berks in 1 6 1 5. In the collection of letters before mentioned a letter from John Chamberlain to Sir Dudley Carleton, in November 161 6, thus alludes to William Standen : * The Sheriffs are pricked on Sunday . • . and one Standen (a widower, a near neighbour of Samuel Backhouse, shall marry his youngest daughter) for Berk- shire. It has become a great matter of canvass and suit to avoid the place, and your brother Harrison ^ was in bodily fear that it would light upon him.'

There is a monument in Arborfield Church, two miles from Swallowfield, to the memory of William and Mary Standen and their infant, Nicholas Love Standen. On it are the effigies of a man and woman in a recumbent position, and a child at their feet. A Latin inscription states that Mary was *singulari castitate, pietate, et in opere beneficentiae spectabilis.* On the front and sides are escutcheons. Edward Standen, the last male heir of this family, died in 1639 ; he was the love-sick swain alluded to in the curious old ballad, entitled * Molly Moggs.' This ballad, printed in Swift's * Miscellanies,' is said to have been the joint composition of Gay and his boon com- panions. Pope, Swift, and Arbuthnot, while detained by the. weather at the Rose Inn, Wokingham. Molly Moggs was the landlord's daughter, and her beauty, it was said, was only

* John Harrison, of Beech Hill, married Elizabeth, daughter of George Carleton, of Huntercombe, Oxon.

if

II

The Family of Backhouse 109

equalled by her insensibility to the tender passion. Edward Standen sighed in vain, and his death, which occurred in 1730, when he was only twenty-seven years of age, was attributed to her indifference. She died a spinster, aged sixty-seven, on March 7, 1766.

Edward Standen left the estate and manor of Arborfield to his relative Mr. Neville, whose son became Lord Braybrooke. Mr. Neville being a minor, about 1734, an Act of Parliament was obtained to enable his guardians to sell it, which they did to Pelsant Reeves, Esq., father of John Reeves, to whose only daughter, Elmira, it afterwards devolved. She married Mr. George Dawson ; he died in 1832, and was succeeded by his son George Pelsant Dawson, from whom Sir Henry Russell bought the largest part of the manor and added it to the Swallowfield estate. The old Manor-house of Arborfield, described in * Our Village * by Miss Mitford, no longer exists.

1 1 o Swallowfield and its Owners

CHAPTER XII

SIR JOHN BACKHOUSE THE ROYALIST

1626 Samuel Backhouse was succeeded by his eldest son, John Back- house, who was forty-two years of age when he came into possession of Swallowfield, and had lived at Windsor during the lifetime of his father.

He married at St. Alban's Church, Wood Street, on July 1 1 , 1 61 5, Flower, daughter of Thomas Henshaw, of London (merchant tailor and silkman to King James I.), by his wife, Flower Gouldesborough, and got with his wife ^4,000, and at her mother's death, in 1616, received ^1,500 more.

In 1 62 1 John Backhouse was one of the jury empanelled to try the well-known charge of manslaughter brought against Abbot, Archbishop of Canterbury.^

It was during a visit to Hampshire, to consecrate a chapel at Lord Zouche's house at Bramshill, that the Archbishop, whilst hunting in the park on July 24, 1621, aimed at a buck with his cross-bow, and the bolt glancing killed the keeper, Peter Hawkins. Upon this accident, by the canon law, the Archbishop was suspended from all ecclesiastical functions, and by the civil law had incurred the forfeiture of all his goods and chattels to the King. His Majesty, however, as soon as he was informed of it, remarked that * an angel might have miscarried in that sort,' and

^ The jury found it done ^ per infortunium su^ propria culpl'

Sir John Backhouse the Royalist i\\

he addressed to the Primate a consolatory letter, written with his own hand, in which he assured him *that he would not add affliction to his sorrow, nor take one farthing from his chattels,' Thus far all was well, but the Church was not so easily- satisfied, and Williams, Bishop of Lincoln and Keeper of the Great Seal, wrote a letter in which he said : * To leave virum sanguineumy or a man of blood. Primate and Patriarch of all the King's Churches, is a thing that sounds very harsh in the Canons of the Church.' The King then found it necessary to nominate ten Commissioners, five of whom were Bishops, to decide the cause. After many conferences this Synod could not agree, so the King settled the question by declaring the Primate capable of using all the authority of a Metropolitan in the same manner as if the homicide had never happened.^

Sir Dudley Carleton, writing August 4, 162 1, thus alludes to the event : * Upon the fall of the fellow, who lived not half an hour, the Lord of Canterbury sent away to inform his Majesty, who returned a gracious answer : that such an accident might befall any man ; that himself once had the ill luck to kill the keeper's horse under him, and that his Queen, in like sort, killed him the best brache (hound) he ever had, and therefore willed him not to discomfort himself.'

The Archbishop settled ^20 a year on the widow of the keeper, which soon procured her a second husband, and his Lord- ship during the rest of his life kept a monthly fast in memory of his misfortune. Yet, we are told, it always served his enemies as a pretext for slighting his authority. Laud and two other Bishops- elect who were awaiting consecration implored that they might not receive consecration at his hands, and he ultimately delegated the duty to the Bishop of London.

^ Five months were spent in cavilling, during which time Abbot lived in retire- ment in a hospital which he had founded in his native town of Guildford.

1 1 2 Swallowfield and its Owners

1625 John Backhouse sat for Great Marlow in the first Parliament of Charles I., Thomas Cotton being the other burgess ; and

1626 ^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ made a Knight of the Bath. He sat again the

1627 following year with Sir William Hicks, and in 1627 with Sir Miles Hobart.

1642 Sir John Backhouse was one of the King's Commissioners on

an inquisition taken at Twyford in the county of Berks, on October 18, 1642, directed to inquire and find by the inquisi- tion of good and lawful men upon their oaths &c., the Meter, Meers, Bounds, and Limits of the Forest of the said Lord the King of Windsor.* The other Commissioners were Thomas Howard, Esq., Sir George Stonehouse,* Bt., Ed. Dunch,* Esq., John D'Oyley,3 Tanfield Vachell,* William Barker,^ Esq., Robert Gosson,^ Esq., and Edward Clarke, Esq.

The *good and lawful men,' the jurors, were as follows: * John Blandy,^ gentleman, Richard Aldworth, gentleman, William Wilton, gentleman, Richard Pocock,^ gentleman, John Hedd, gentleman, William Pocock, gentleman, William Smith, gentleman, Richard Smith, gentleman, Francis Styles,® gentleman, Thomas Buckerbridge,^^ gentleman, John Edlyn,*^ gentleman, Henry Hensell, gentleman, Payn Cantrill,^^ gentleman, Richard Pottinger,^^ gentleman, John Whistler,^^ gentleman, Edward Blagrave,^^ gentleman, and Thomas Justice, gentleman. The

^ Stonehouse of Raxlley, Berks.

* Edmond Dunch of Little Whittenham, Berks.

* D'Oyley of Merton, co. Oxford. * Vachel of Coley, Reading.

* William Barker of Sunning, brother of Sir Anthony Barker.

* Robert Gosson of St. Clement Danes.

^ John Blandy of Litcomb Bassett, Berks. • Richard Pocock of Chiveley.

* Francis Styles of Little Missenden, Bucks.

*<* Buckeridge of Hartridge, Berks. " Edlyn of Pinner.

^* Payn Cantrill, son of Humphrey Cantrill of Woodley, Sunning, and brother of Humphrey Cantrill of Wokingham.

" Richard Pottinger of Burghfield. " Whistler of Henley.

^^ Edward Blagrave, son of John Blagrave of Bulmarsh.

Sir John Backhouse the Royalist 113

* taking of the inquisition ' was to be done and performed in the presence of Sir Richard Harrison, Kt., and Sir Francis KnoUes, Junior, Kt., Borderers of the same Forest, and Ralph Maddyson, Esq., Francis Beard, Henry Heath, Humfrey Pickford, Zackarie Curtis, and other Foresters of the said Forest, also of Humphrey Beckley,^ Henry Powney,^ William Wynche,® William Grove,^ senr., Richard Syms, and Richard Cotterell,^ Rangers of the same Forest,

The jurors say upon their oath that * the limits of the Forest begin at Brick Bridge, situate in White Waltham, and so directly by the way leading towards the town of New Windsor as far as Shipcote Lane, and so by the same lane as far as Brayslade, and so far as the northern end of a lane called Tuklin Lane, and so directly as far as '^ Bridge, and so across the southern part of the waste called Money Row Green, and so by a lane called the Green Lane leading towards the town of New Windsor, beyond the southern end of the waste called Strode Green, and so beyond the Green Lane beyond the southern part of the waste called Fifield Green, and so to Sparre Bridge, and so far as the east end ot East Okeley Green and across Dedworth Green towards the town of New Windsor by a close called the Spitte as far as the northern end of Pescod Street, and by a lane leading towards Goswell's Close, and across the said close to Windsor Bridge, the town and Castle of New Windsor on the right, and so by the river Thames as far as Loddeplace Hatch, where the counties ot Berks and Surrey join, and so lying as bounds between the said two counties of Berks and Surrey as far as the southern gate of the Great Park of Windsor, and so by the Park as far as Bagshot

* Beckley of Fifield, Bray. * Powney of Bray.

' Winch of Bray * William Grove of Grove.

^ Cottrell of Wanting. There is a farm in Swallowfield called CottrelPs Farm.

1 1 4 Swallowjield and its Owners

Ford and Wishmore Cross, and so by a '^ called Le Berns as far as Broad Ford and Tutchin Bridge, and by the rivulet near Yateley Mill lying as bounds between the counties of Berks and Southampton, as far as Eversley Mill, and so by the rivixlet called the Shear Stream to a place where the counties of Berks and Wilts join, and so lying as the bounds of the said counties of Berks and Wilts, as far as the said rivulet, as far as Swallowfield Bridge, and so by the same rivulet as far as ^ Bridge, and so by the same rivulet as far as Auberfield Bridge and Lodden Bridge, and by the rivulet of Old Lodden as far as the bridge near Sandford Mill, and across the middle of the waste called Lea Heath, as far as Merril Hill Bridge over the rivulet called Ennis Brook, as far as the north corner of Piper's Close, and so lying as bounds between the counties of Berks and Wilts, as far as the churchyard of Okeingham and as far as the north end of Rayles Lane, and so lying as bounds between Binfield and Laurence Waltham, as far as Brick Bridge where the metes and bounds of the Forest aforesaid begin, including within the Forest aforesaid all from the right and excluding the Forest aforesaid all from the left/ j^2 There is in the * Clarendon Papers ' (No. 1 793) the affi- davit of Sir John Backhouse of the assessment of ;^400 as the twentieth part of his property at the time of the making of the Ordinance of November 29, 1642, for assessment. This same year Swallowfield was sequestrated in consequence of the part Sir John took in the Civil War, and he appears then to have settled at Worldham, two and a half miles from Alton in Hants.^

* There i» a letter, preserved in the Bodleian Library, from Sir John Backhouse and Mr. Bernard Lee concerning the ownership and rating of some land, written from * Worlam, April 29th, 1632.' Sir John Backhouse left by will ;^ 10 * to the poor of Wordleham, wherein my land lieth,' and ;£io to Mr. Pargiter, the minister of Wordleham.

Sir John Backhouse the Royalist 115

And there is also in the Clarendon papers (No. 1877) a copy of the petition of Sir John Backhouse, K.B., to the Committee of Sequestration, complaining that his property in Berkshire has been seized though no proof of his delinquency or any definite accusation has been made against him. (May 13, 1645.)^

Most of Sir John's friends sided with the King, and his dear friend and neighbour Edward Pitt^ of Strathfieldsaye was involved as deeply as himself. From some MSS. at Swallowfield it appears that in consequence of a servant of Edward Pitt having been arrested at Wokingham by order of Sir John Meldrum,^ he wrote as follows to that commander : * December 1 642, Strathfieldsaye. I doe hereby assure you on the word and reputation of a gentleman that there was no ill intent of his comminge to your town, but to present my service and deliver a letter to CoUonel Hollice {sic)^ my noble and worthy friend, who I was informed was in your town as a Cheif Commander and with whom I had speciall occasion of businesse/ No doubt the Roundheads looked on Edward Pitt with more suspicion after his son William joined the King's army, and on the 8th February 1643 he wrote as follows to the Earl of Essex : * That your Petitioner, labouring to tread that narrow path between his Magestie and the Parliament, was three weeks since apprehended and carried from his own house in Hampshire (Strathfieldsaye) to Okingham by the forces under Sir John

^ Lord Damley has at Cobham, amongst other papers of the Backhouses, ' a Booke containing a Copie of the Deed of Draft from Sir John Backhouse and Codington and others of the whole estate of Sir John Backhouse,' dated May 29, 1647, and * a Copie of Sir John Backhouse his will in the same booke,' dated 1648. Mr. William Codington was left 40J. by Lady Backhouse to buy a ring.

» Edward Pitt, eldest son of Sir William Pitt and father of the first Lord Rivers.

' Sir John Meldrum, one of CromwelPs commanders, stationed at Wokingham.

* Probably Denzil Holies.

1 2

1 1 6 Swallowjield and Us Owners

Meldrum*s command, and the next day brought hither to the Castle at Windsor,* where he hath ever since remayned a close prisoner, without any information to his knowledge brought in against him, and in the interim hath had his home pillaged, and his weake and tender wife with eleven young children were a second tyme affrighted.' ^

Finally Edward Pitt, after five months* appeal to the Com- mittee of Sequestration, obtained * the liberty of the town ot Windsor for his health's sake,' and his tenants at Strathfieldsaye were summoned by a warrant signed by Fleetwood and Fenton to appear before *them at Mr. Thomas Lovett's house in Reading.' In stating his case Edward Pitt adds : * If absolute liberty cannot be obtained, then upon bayle not exceeding ^^500 or ^1,000. Sir John Backhouse or my brother William will be bound with me.' 1649 Sir John Backhouse died on the 9th October, 1649, aged (>^^ and was buried at Swallowfield, where there is, in the Russell Tribune, a black and white marble monument on the wall, erected to his memory by his widow, Flora Backhouse. It was originally placed on the north wall of the chancel, but was moved to its present position when the church was restored. It has on it a Latin inscription, of which the following is a trans- lation :

* Sacred to the memory of John Backhouse of Swallowfield, of the most Honourable Order (which is called the Bath), Most worthy knight, sprung from an ancient family in the county of Lancaster. He awaits the glorious coming of his Lord, in these ashes the reviver of a blest hereafter, to be born

^ Windsor Castle was the headquarters of the Earl of Essex during the winter of 1642, and many Royalists were imprisoned there.

' These letters, which I believe have never been printed, were given me for my book by the late General Pitt-Rivers of Rushmore.

*

Sir John Backhouse the Royalist 1 1 7

again, a man imbued with no slight tincture of every sort of learning, highly skilled in languages, particularly in Greek, which, with a surprising sagacity and talent, he had seized and acquired as a grown-up man without anybody to instruct him, that he might listen intimately to the oracles of the Christian religion. The faith of the stream being suspected, he penetrated to the clear springs of the fountains. The best support and ornament of literary men, with an easy suavity of manners and a conspicuous candour of disposition, he endeared all who were related to him. And what thou may'st wonder at, traveller, in this condition of the State and in most difficult times, neither injuries, imprisonment, flatterers, nor threats drove him astray. He always adhered to the point of constancy, faith and conscience. Not unequal to public affairs, which he most discreetly conducted in a way to equal all fame. He so cherished the poor, he was so indulgent to his servants, he so sacredly respected his conjugal duty and his modest wife, that he was, though childless, truly the father of a family. With elegance, good cheer, and hospitality he was accustomed freely and soberly to entertain his friends. So warm a worshipper of the Deity that he shone a great example in this cold age. Since the pillar of his country, for so he was esteemed when living, is dead, all malice and impotent envy may subside. His most afllicted wife raised this monument to her excellent and ever-beloved husband, by whose side, after her death, she wishes, desires, and intends to be placed.*

Elias Ashmole, who was an intimate friend of Sir John Backhouse, says in his * History of Berkshire ' that there were on the marble gravestone lying over the body of Sir John several trophies, and that on the south wall of the chancel hung the achievements carried at his funeral. * A standard of England

1 1 8 Swallow field and its Owners

with his crests and motto ; a penon of his own coat ; another of Bickhouse impaling Henshaw ; a third Backhouse quartering Saltheld (Salkeld) and impaling Henshaw, and on the east wall hung his target, coat of arms and crest, and near unto them a guidon of the Order of the Bath/ Of these * atchievements * some still remain in the church, and are hung in the Russell Tribune near the Backhouse monuments.

SIR JOHN BACKHOUSE'S WILL, February 28, 1648.

* Beloved wife, sole executrix.

* That my three friends whom I have putt in trust with my estate, Mr. Josiah Bernard, Mr. Samuel West,* and Mr. William Codington,^ &c.

* To my wife, cattle, household stuff, plate, and £^00.

* To the poor of Swallowfield, £10^ *To the poor of Kingsley, £\o.

* To the poor of Wordleham (Worldham), wherein my land lieth, j^io.

* To the poor of Oakhanger,^ ^10.

* Of the tythes of Synsham, 405. (Sindlesham, near Swallow- field.'

^ To the poor of Clerkenwell, ^^5.

* To the Minister who shall be officiating at these places at the time of my decease, 40J.

^ Samuel West of Lincoln's Inn, his wife's nephew, son of Francis West of London, by Alice, daughter of John Cheney of London. He died July 4, 1649, ^%^^ twenty-nine, and was buried at Swallowfield, where Ashmole says there was a gravestone under the east window of the chancel with his inscription.

' Lord Damley has a book containing a Drafte ^ from Sir John Backhouse and Codington' {sic) 1647.

' Oakhanger, near Alton, Hants,

Sir John Backhouse the Royalist 1 19

^ To Thomas Mudd, my servant, lease of the tenement now in the possession of Thos. Johnson.

* To my niece Love, (^ 1 00.

*To my brother William ^100 a year besides the Manor of Oakhanger.

^ To John Backhouse, my brother William's son, and to his daughter Flower to pay for their breeding ^40 a year.

*To my nephew Samuel Bellingham,^ jC^^^^*

* To Edward Swayne,^ in consideration of the service which he shall do for my wife, the messuage and land now in possession of Andrew Roades for life to pay rent ^10.

* To Francis Jennings in consideration of services for my wife, messuage and lands now in her possession and 20j.

*To my friend and neighbour Mr. John Harrison,^ ^10. *To John Hanman, Mr. Stephen Rose, Mr. Bartholomew Syringate, ^5.

* To my servant Mary Staverton,* jC5^*

*To Laurence Richards and Richard Rustate, ^10 besides their annuity. Ralph Ralys, ^5.

* To the boy Tom, to bind him apprentice, ^5.

* To Anthony Rustate, the lands and messuage now in the possession of Richard Townsend, besides annuity.

* For making and repairing the high road between Swallow- field and Reading, the yearly sum of j^io.

* To my servants, men or maids, who have served me 6 years at my decease, an annuity out of Sinsham.'

^ Bellingham of Bromley, co. Lincoln, manried Elizabeth Backhouse.

* Edward Swayne was the doctor.

' John Harrison lived at Beech Hill, and was son of Richard Harrison of Finchampsted.

* Mary Staverton, probably related to the first wife of Mr. Henry Neville of Billingbear.

I20 Swallowfield and its Owners

Codicil, February 27, 1648 : *To Mr. Pargiter of Wordleham, ^ro. *To Mr. Shylers of Swallowfield, £k^.

* To Mr. John Boudewton, 40J.

* Witness : My Lady, Thomas Mudd, and Mary Staverton.' Sir John Backhouse's widow, Flora {nde Henshaw), re- married Henry Smith, alias Neville of Holt, Esquire, of co. Leicester. He was the second son of Sir Henry Neville of Billingbear, by his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Smith, Kt., of Ostenhanger, Kent, and was a widower with children, his first wife having been daughter and heir of Richard Staverton.

Lady Backhouse did not long survive her second marriage. She died on August 12, 1652, and was buried at Swallowfield, where there is, in the Russell Tribune, a Latin inscription to her memory on a black marble slab beneath her husband's monu- ment. The inscription is as follows :

^DoM^ Flora Backhouse.

Flora, sed casta, sed pudica, matrona pientissima licet numquam mater, quae pro liberis dilexit egenos, aluit pauperes, liberalis fuit in tenues, femina frugi sed hospitalis, quae morum et priscae fidei novum exemplar audiit apud omnes. Filia nata minima Thome Henshaw, civis Londinensis, uxor unica Dom. Johannis Backhouse de Swallowfield, militis de Balneo. In cujus connubio quadraginta vixit annos modeste, amanter, suaviter, feliciter, nisi quod infbecunde : cui superfuit non vixit annos duos. Animam Deo reddidit anno salutis mdclii. aetatis suae Lxii. et hie conditur.'

No doubt Lady Backhouse's second marriage gave great dissatisfaction to her first husband's family, and especially to his brother William Backhouse, who succeeded to Swallowfield at her death ; and we see this in a letter, dated 1651 (now in the writer's possession), written by Henry Neville, in which he

Sir John Backhouse the Royalist 121

repudiates sundry puerile charges to the effect that he had removed from Swallowfield certain trifles such as a chafing-dish, counterpanes, a warming-pan, &c. !

WILL OF FLOWER, LADY BACKHOUSE {n^e HENSHAW).

Sole executor of Sir John Backhouse, * being sick, I doe by the free consent and bidding of my loving husband Henry Nevill, alias Smith, Esq., testify in the presence of Clement Neville. Ri. Solm'd. Samuel Edwards.

* I give and bequeath to my brother-in-law Mr. William Backhouse that bason and ewer with the two silver flagons which were left to my said late husband by his mother.

* To my niece Love, wife of Nicolas Love,^ Esq., the wedding ring I had by Sir John Backhouse at our marriage and a bracelet of his hair, with a mourning locket upon it. Also my plush night gowns.

* To Henry Neville, my godchild, the order of the Bath set with diamonds.

* To Lady Portman ^ a '^ of mother of pearl sett upon guilt box.

* To my daughter (step) Mrs. Alice Neville a diamond ring with a diamond lockett, and to ditto my sea green sattin petti- coat.

^To my niece Mrs. Fflower Jaye j^ioo, after to her two children.

^ Nicholas Love of Basing, bom 1608, one of King Charles's judges, died at Vevay, whither he retired.

* Wife of Sir William Portman of Orchard Portman, F.R.S., who was made Knight of the Bath by Charles II.

122 Swallmvjield and its Owners

* To Mr. Bernard ^ and Mr. Codington 40J. to buy rings.

* To my niece Mrs. Richardson ^50.

* To my niece Brooke ^ ;^ 100, and my Padesoy suit of apparell and the box of fine wearing linen which is in my closet.

*To my goddaur Mrs. Reddish ^50, my carnason sattin petticoat.

* To my waiting woman, Mrs. Mary Staverton, ^^50, my Prunella suit, my Scarlett serge petticoat and all my other wearing linen.

^ To Lady Portman, if she please to accept it, my black and silk petticoat and my velvet riding-hood.

* To my daughter in law, Mr. William Neville's wife, my ash- coloured mantle, my scarlet haire night-gown, my yellow damask petticoat, my black plush bordrobe.

*To my g*^ child Anne Neville, a tabinet of green plush trimmed with silver.

* To my g** child Meliora Neville,^ my writing desk of green plush.

* To my brother Bernard Henshaw's daughter, my god-daur, my watch that striketh.

*To Mr. Pargiter, minister of Worleham, £5. *To Mr. Springett, minister at Swallowfield, ^^5. ^ To St. Mary Magdalen, Milk St., ^4.

* To the poor of Kingsley, S'ton, ^^5, and carpet and cushion of green cloth for the church there and a dish and flagon and table-^

cloth.

* To Swallowfield a dish of silver of 3 pounds 7 Dw^* to be used at the Communion.

^ Josiah Bernard was her trustee under the will of Sir John Backhouse.

* Evidently daughter of Sir Henry Neville of Billingbear, who married Sir Richard Brooke (see p. 103).

• Meliora Neville married Richard Weston of Sutton.

Sir John Backhouse the Royalist 1 23

* To Richard Emsbook, gardener, ^ i o.

* To all the servants, ^^5.

*To my poor kinswoman, Mrs. Bates, ^5.

* To my nephew Thos. Henshaw the elder, ^^40 to buy him a bason and ewer, and ;^5 to buy him a ring.

* To my nephew Bennett Hoskins ^40 for bason and ewer, and ^5 for ring.

* To my niece Mrs. Richards, 505.

* To fflower Backhouse, my goddaiir, 505.

* To Mr. ChV Jones, 50J.

* To Mary Jones his daur, 505., Mr. West's picture in gold, and a bracelet of her mother's hair and locket of gold.

* To Thomas Henshaw younger ;^ioo, ^^5 towards the better maintenance of a godly and learned minister who shall officiate at Swallow field.

* All else to my loving husband Henry Neville, sole exec'. 7th Nov. 1 65 1.

* Proved 28th Jan. 1652 Eng. Style.'

124 Swallaivjield and its Owners

CHAPTER XIII

WILLIAM BACKHOUSE, THE ROSICRUCIAN

1649 William Backhouse, who succeeded to Swallowfield in 1649, when he was fifty-six years of age, was, of all the persons bearing the name of Backhouse, by far the most famous. To quote from Wood's * Athenae Oxonienses,' he was * a most renowned chymist and Roscicrucian, and a great encourager of those that studied chymistry and astrology.'

His love of these studies commenced at Oxford, whither he was sent in 1610, being at that time sixteen years of age. He became a Commoner of Christ Church, but left without a degree. There is a curious MS. written to him about this date by John Blagrave,^ the celebrated astrologer and mathematician, who lived at Southcot,^ near Reading, and had also a house at Swallowfield, and land at Eversley. It is probable that it was this and similar communications that induced William Backhouse to enter deeply into the study of Rosicrucian philosophy.

He awakened similar tastes in the mind of his friend Elias Ashmole, the celebrated antiquary, who settled at Englefield, Berks, in 1647, and after William Backhouse's succession to Swallowfield they appear to have been in constant communication. In Ashmole's Diary there are numerous allusions to William Backhouse, of which I give the following :

* Son of John Blagrave of Bulmarsh, by Anne, daughter of Sir Anthony Hunger- ford of Down Ampney, co. Gloucester.

' Southcot or Southcote belonged to the family of Sambome from 1420 to 1506.

William Backhouse the Rosicrucian 125

M 65 1, April 3rd. Mr. William Backhouse, of Swallowfield in 1651 county Berks., caused me to call him father henceforward.

^ April 26th. My father Backhouse brought me acquainted with the Lord Ruthin, who was a most ingenious person.^

* June loth. Mr. Backhouse told me I must now needs be his son, because he had communicated so many secrets to me.

* October 7th. My father Backhouse and I went to see Mr. Goodier, the great botanist, at Petersfield.^

* February loth. This morning my father Backhouse opened himself very freely touching the great secret.^

^February 13th. My father Backhouse, lying sick in Fleet St., over against St. Dunstan's Church, and not knowing whether he should live or die, about eleven of the clock, told me in syllables the true matter of the Philosopher's stone, which he bequeathed to me as a legacy.'

William Backhouse did, however, recover from this illness, and lived for nine years after. Aubrey, in his * Miscellanies,' says : * William Backhouse had an ugly scab that grew on the middle of his forehead, which had been there for years, and he could not be cured ; it became so nauseous that he would see none but his intimate friends. In a journey, having come to Peterboro', he dreamt there that he was in a church and saw a

^ Sir Thomas Ruthven of Freeland, N.B., created a Baron this year by Charles II., was a great chemist

' Elias Ashmole had made a special study of botany when living at Englefield, and became a great botanist

' The Philosopher's stone, which was to create plenty by changing all metals into gold. Addison, in the Spectator^ says : ' I was once engaged in discourse with a Rosicrucian about the great secret He talked of the secret as that of a spirit which Uved within an emerald and converted everything that was near it to the highest perfection. "It gives," said he, "a lustre to the sun, and water to the diamond. It irradiates every metal, and enriches lead with all the properties of gold. It heightens smoke into flame, flame into light, and light into glory. A single ray of it dissipates pain and care and melancholy from the person on whom it falls. In short/' says he, " its presence naturally changes every place into a kmd of heaven." '

126 Swallowfield and its Owners

hearse, and that one did bid him wet his scab with the drop of the marble. The next day he went to morning service, and after- wards going about the church, he saw the very hearse (which was of black say) for Queen Katharine,^ wife of Henry VIII., and the marble stone by. He found a drop on the marble and there were some cavities, wherein he dipt his finger and wetted the scab : in seven days it was perfectly cured. This accurate and certain information I had from my worthy friend Elias Ashmole, Esq., who called Mr. Backhouse father and had this account from his own mouth. May Dew is a great dissolvent.' ^ William Backhouse was a man of considerable general ability and great research. He translated from French into English the following works: (i) *The pleasant Fountain of Knowledge,* first written in French, anno 141 3, by John de la Fontaine,^ of Valencia in Hainault.* (2) ^ The complaint of Nature against the erroneous Alchymist,' a translation of * Planctus Naturae,' by John de Mehung.^ (3) * The Golden Fleece, or the Flower of Treasures, in which is succinctly and methodically handled the

' There was originally a hearse over Queen Katharine's tomb, extending from pillar to pillar. A MS. was sold in 1879 ^7 Messrs. Puttick and Simpson contain- ing Church notes, and amongst them was a drawing made in 1 586 of four banners used at the funeral of Queen Katharine of Arragon. In the inventory of 1 539 given in Gunton we read that there was ' in the enclosed place where the Lady Katharine lieth buried an altar cloth of black cloth.' There seems to have been a table monu- ment which stood on a stone platform. The stone at the top was massive and pro- jected. It is said to have been displaced by * reforming rabble ' in 1 643, and according to an account in the Gentlematis Magazine in 1798, this tomb was wholly removed by Dean Tarrant in 1792, and its fragments transferred to the Deanery garden, but there is said to be nothing there now that can be identified. (See notes of Rev. W, Sweeting.)

' The Rosicrucians collected large quantities of morning dew, from which they were said to extract a very valuable ingredient in the composition of the Elixir Vita or water of life.

' Jean la Fontaine, a French poet and mathematician, who occupied himself greatly about the transmutation of metals.

* MS. Ashm. 58. * MS. Ashm. 58, art. 2, 3.

William Backhouse the Rosicrucian 127

Stone of the Philosophers, his excellent efFectes and admirable vertues, and the better to attaine to the originall and true meanes of perfection, inriched with figures representing the proper colours to lyfe as they successively appear in the practise of this blessed worke, by that great philosopher Solomon Trismosin, master to Paracelsus,^ which book was printed in Paris in 16 12.'

William Backhouse had also considerable mechanical genius and was the inventor of the * way-wiser,' the original of the modern pedometer. His friend John Evelyn writes in 1655 as follows : * I went to see Col. Blount, who shewed me the appli- cation of the way-wiser to a coach, exactly measuring the miles, and shewing them by an index as we went on.' ^

William Backhouse died at Swallowfield May 30th, 1662, 1662 aged sixty-nine, and was buried there on June 17th.

By his wife Anne Richards, daughter of Bryan Richards of Hartley Westfield,^ Hants, who survived him only one year,^ William Backhouse had issue ; (i) Samuel, died young : (2) John, born 1640, who went to Wadham College in 1656, and during his three years' residence is said to have exhibited uncommon proof of genius, but died on the 4th of September, 1660, and was buried at Swallowfield ; (3) Flower (or Flora), born 1641 (after- wards Countess of Clarendon).

^ MS. Ashm. 1395. Paracelsus, born 1493, near Zurich, his real name being Hohenheim, pretended to have a spirit at his command called ' Azoth,' whom he kept imprisoned in a jewel He professed that gold could cure all diseases, if it were gold which had been transmuted from an inferior metal by means of the philosopher's stone.

* In the Post' Boy of June 19, 1697, appears the following advertisement : * Stolen or lost between Bamet and St. Albans, a Way-wiser or instrument that measures Roads, and was fixt to the great wheel or axle-tree of the coach ; it had a round face like a clock with the hands to shew the miles, to shew the furlongs, the inward circle numbered to 50 miles. Whoever brings it to Mr. Tuttell, Mathe- matical Instrument maker at the King's arms and Globe at Charing-Cross, shall have I or. reward.'

* Now called Westpall or Westfall. Bryan Richards also appears as * of Mattingley.' ^ Mrs. William Backhouse was buried at Swallowfield.

128 Swallowjield and its Owners

These children had for their tutor William Lloyd, a con- nection of their father's.^ * He was a man of the most exalted ability, and eminent,' says Calamy, * for his skill in chronology.* It was during his residence at Swallowfield that he compiled the materials which he presented to Burnet for his * History of the Reformation,' which history he also corrected with a critical exactness.

William Lloyd became successively Bishop of St. Asaph, Lichfield, and Worcester, and was one of the seven Bishops sent to the Tower by James II., in 1688, for refusing to read * the Declaration of Indulgence.' He died in 17 17, aged ninety, and was buried at Fladbury in Worcestershire.

His wife Martha, who was the daughter of Dr. Walter Jones, prebendary of Westminster, was buried at Swallowfield in 1654, where (says Ashmole) there was formerly a marble, lying at the foot of the gravestone belonging to Sir John Backhouse, with this inscription :

" Depositum MARTHiE LLOYD GULIELMI LLOYD

FIDELIS ET CHARISSIMiE CONJUGIS,

QUiE VIXIT,

IN CORRUPTISSIMIS TEMPORIBUS,

INSIGNE PIETATIS EXEMPLUM,

ET IN EADEM

CONSTANTER AD FINEM USQUE PERSEVERANS

IN GRAVI PARITER ET LONGA EGRITUDINE

PER ANNI FERE SPATIUM QUOTIDIE MORIBUNDA,

ULT (sic) SUMMUM PATIENTIA QUOQUE MIRACULA

SUAVITER OBDORMIVIT

4<> NGN. OCTOBRIS AN° D**' 1 654,

FELICISSIMAM IN CHRISTO RESURRECTIONEM

EXPECT ANS.'

* William Lloyd's sister married Isaac Backhouse, rector of Northorp, Flint William Lloyd was son of the Rev. Richard Lloyd, vicar of Tylehurst (where he was bom), by his wife Joan Wickens.

William Backhouse the Rosicrucian 129

The following are the principal items in the will of William Backhouse :

* To my loving wife Anne, out of the Manor of Sinsham (Sindlesham), in parish of Sonning and Hurst, ^^260 per annum.

* To my said wife ^100 per annum more, out of the issues of my property of my eight shares of my New River Water, brought from the spring of Shadwell and Anwell to the Citty of London.

* I give to my said wife, in case she shall part and not inhabit with my daur Flower Backhouse, six beds and furniture, with other reasonable furniture, stools, linen, brass &c. for furniture of said house as she, my wife, may happen to live in, and to said wife all plate lately belonging to my son John, lately deceased.

* To Mr. William Lloyd, clerk, all my lands and tenements which I lately bought from Hugh Gales, in parish of Swallowfield, . . . and likewise to Mr. Lloyd the share and selection of mine and my son John's books*

* To my servant Thomas Harrison, lands and tenements in possession of Sir Saunders Buncombe in the parish of St. James's, Clerkenwell, commonly known by the name of Water- house Fields.

*To the poor of Swallowfield ;^io. Towards reparation of Church of Swallowfield, to churchwardens ^^ i o.

* To poor of parish of Kingsley in Southampton (Wilts), j^io.

* To Bridget Saxby, ^^5.

^ To George Burbridge, (^ i o.

* To Richard Well, ^5.

* To young Round,^ ^5.

^ The Rounds continued at Swallowfield for a long time. In 1708 Flora Round married John Lawrence, both of Swallowfield ; no doubt she was god-daughter of Flora Lady Clarendon. In 1780 Thomas Round of Swallowfield was agent to John Dodd.

130 Swallmvfield and its Owners

* To Mary Edwards, ^4. « To Mary Fuller, ^4.

* To William J. Scale, ^10.

* To Richard Alexander, ^2.

* To John Messingham of Kingsley, ^3.

*To Joan Harrison, ^5 out of lands in Swallowfield lately in occupation of Edward Swayne,* deceased, now in occupation of Joan Swayne his relict.

*For paying of such poor children as happen to be of Swallowfield in co. Berks, and not of Swallowfield in the co. of Wilts, to be brought up to some trade or profession, ;^io.

* I appoint Flower Bishop ^ as sole exec. 1660 in presence of witnesses, Anthony Barker, William Clark, &c.'

William Backhouse left to Jesus College, Oxford, two farms on his Manor of Hurst Sinsam, alias Sindlesham, and Arborfield, worth {fi^ per year, * for two Fellows of honest conversation and expert in the Welsh language.* The following is an extract from an indenture now in Jesus College, date Dec. 25th 1661. The indenture * witnesseth that for the glory of God and for the promoting and encouragement of learning and religion in Jesus College aforesaid, and most especially for the better raising and maintaining of such scholars in the said College as may from time to time, and at all times hereafter, render themselves capable and fit for the Ministry of the Holy Gospel, and the cure of souls in those parts of Wales where the English tongue is not so commonly and vulgarly understood and used, &c.*

^ On January 6, 1647, was baptized at Swallowfield, Marie, daughter of Edward Swayne and Joan his wife (P. Register). And there is a tablet on the outside of Swallowfield Church with the following inscription : * Edward Swayne, Chirurcion, of Swallowfield, deceased February 15, 1650, in ye fifty-ninth yare of his age ;' so, of course, he was the doctor of the Backhouses. A John Swayne, alias Smith, was buried at Swallowfield in 1619.

' Flower, widow of William Bishop and only daughter of William Backhouse.

William Backhouse the Rosicrucian 131

Alter considerable detail of the property conveyed, the will goes on to say * that the said Principal, Fellows, and scholars, and their successors shall, from time and for ever hereafter, within six months after the decease of the said William Backhouse, maintain two such persons as shall, besides other qualifications, be able, at the time of their election, thoroughly to understand and readily to speak the Welsh language.' ^

William Backhouse*s only surviving child became the next 1662 owner of Swallowfield. Flower Backhouse was born in 1641, Flower and, though she was now only twenty-one years of age, had been ^'^^^PP a widow for two years. In 1656, when she was but fifteen years old, she was married to William Bishopp, Esq., of South Warn- borough, Hants, second son of Richard Bisshop ^ of London and Holway, Dorset, by his wife Mary, daughter of Humphrey Walcot of Walcot, Salop. The following is the extract from the parish register of Swallowfield concerning her marriage.

• 1656. 28th August. William Bishopp, of S. Warnboro', and fflower Backhouse were married in the presence of ffrancis Deane, by James Phipps.'

William Bishopp died at Swallowfield on the 3rd March, 1660, without surviving issue, his two children, Anna, born 1657, and William Richard, born 1659, having both died as infants.

In William Bishopp*s will, he says : * I give to my dear wife Mrs. Flower Bishop my manor of Okeangre,^ co. Southampton, also all my freehold in Swallowfield. To my loving sister, Mrs.

* This benefaction was, by the Commission of 1857, merged in the general estate of the College.

" The spelling of this name varies, from father to son, from the earliest record of the family in 1390, when John Bysshop appears in the Herald's Visitation, down to James Bisshop, Esq., now residing at Dunsden, near Reading, who is the present representative of the family in the direct male line.

' Oakhanger, near Alton. This manor must have been settled on William Bishopp by his ^ther-in-law, to whom it had been left by Sir John Backhouse.

K2

132 Swallowjield and its Owners

Bridgett Goddard, my watch. To my dear mother (in law), Mrs. Ann Backhouse, my great Bible with the bosses. To the poor of South Warnborough, the sum of ^5. To the poor of the parish of Swallowfield ;^5, as also one silver flagon for the Communion Table of Swallowfield.' This fiagon is still preserved ; it has on it the arms of William Bishop (on a bend cotised three bezants) and the following inscription : * Ex dono Gulielmi Bishopp Ecclesiae Swalefield.'

William Bishop, as well as his father-in-law, William Back- house, subscribed largely for the restoration of Old St. Paul's Cathedral. They lived to see Inigo Jones's new portico let to hucksters, the choir turned into cavalry barracks, and ;^ 17,000, left of the subscriptions, seized by the Parliament. The build- ing was totally destroyed by the Great Fire, but their munificence is still perpetuated by Hollar's prints in Dugdale's * History of St. Paul's.' Amongst these are representations of four marble tablets in St. Faith's. Two are elaborately carved with figures and fruit ; on one are the arms and crest of William Backhouse, on another the following inscription :

Ne Labantis Ecclesiae vestigia dispereant

P.

Guil: Backhouse

Arm.

Fundamentum aliud nemo potest ponere.

On the two others, respectively, are the arms and crest of William Bishop, and the following inscription :

Quo,

cum amplius non erit quale olim fuerit, notum sit,

Descriptorem egit

Guil: Bishop Arm.

At quanta supersunt quae videt ipsa fides.

William Backhouse the Rosicrucian 133

After she had been in the possession of Swallowfield for six 1662 months, Flower Bishop, at the earnest solicitations of her family, we are told, became the wife of her cousin Sir William Back- house, Bart., and they were married on November 13, 1662, at the old church of St. Andrew, Holborn.

134 Swallowfield ami its Owners

I I

CHAPTER XIV

SWALLOWFIELD PASSES TO THE HYDES

Sir William Backhouse, who, by right of his wife, became the 1662 owner of Swallowfield in 1662, was son of Nicholas Backhouse, of Widford, Herts, merchant and Sheriff of London, and Christian, daughter of John Williams, merchant, of London.

Sir William was baptized on February 16, 1 641, at St. Helen's, Bishopsgate, and lost his- father in 1650. On November 9, 1660, he was created a baronet, in recognition of the good

1664 services of his family to the Crown. In 1664 he was made High Sheriff of Berks, and this same year the Backhouse pedigree was recorded at the Herald's Visitation.

1665 Sir William and Lady Backhouse spent most of this year at Swallowfield in consequence of the terrible visitation of the plague, the parish of St. Andrew, Holborn, being one of the first where it raged. Sir William subscribed largely for the 1 sufferers, the King setting the good example of subscribing ;^i,0(DO

weekly. Sir William was well able to be generous, for he owned at least three adventurer's shares * in the New River Company, one of which he represented himself, Thomas Henshaw, of \

■

' In 1889 one adventurer's share was sold by auction and purchased by the I

Prudential Assurance Company for ;^ 122,800, and since then one was sold for •

;£ 1 06,000. King Charles I. parted with his moiety, owing to embarrassments, in [

. consideration of a perpetual annual payment of £s<^ which still bears the name of ,

King's Clog. The income two or three years ago on his shares was ;^93,36o. .

I

Swallowjield passes to the Hydes 135

Westminster, another, and Mr. Francis Michell the third, Lady Backhouse also holding no less than eleven !

In September, 1666, we can imagine Sir William Backhouse, 1666 with his friend John Evelyn, visiting the smoking remains of the buildings in which his forefathers had accumulated their fortunes. Evelyn describes * going on foote from Whitehall as far as London Bridge^ thro' the late Fleete Street, Ludgate Hill, by St. Paule's, Cheapside, Exchange, Bishopsgate, Aldersgate, and out to Moorfields, thence thro' Cornehill, and with extraordinary difficulty clambering over heaps of yet smoking rubbish, and frequendy mistaking where he was.'

Lady Backhouse, who was a very bigoted Protestant, firmly believed that the Fire of London originated with the Papists,^ and she and Dr. Lloyd informed Burnet furthermore that Mr. John Grant, a Catholic, had prevented the water of the New River Com- pany being used to put it out. This accusation was refuted by examination of the books of the Company. Mr. John Lowman, Keeper of His Majesty's Gaol for the City of London (White Lion Prison)^ who took the trouble to investigate the matter, says : * In order to inform myself in respect to Bishop Burnet's relation regarding Dr. Lloyd, the Countess of Clarendon, ^ and Mr. Grant, I applied to the Governor and Company of the New River, who generously ordered Mr. Jasper Bull, their clerk, and Mr. Henry Mill, their engineer, to let me have such accounts belonging to the Company as were proper to be published. Whereupon I had recourse to their minute book, wherein I

' Sir Robert Brook, Chairman of the Committee appointed to inquire into the Firing of London, reported the confession of a Frenchman, Robert Hubert of Rouen, who said that he was one of those that, with one Stephen Piedloe and twenty- three accomplices, fired by throwing fireballs into the house of Mr. Farryner, a baker in Pudding Lane, from whence the fire had its beginning ; but it was found that the said Hubert was disordered in his mind.

' Lady Backhouse had then become Lady Clarendon.

136 Swallowjield and its Owners

found that a General Court of the said Company was held at Mr. Clifton's in Covent Garden on September 25, 1666 (twenty-three days after the breaking out of the fire), at which court John Grant, Esq., was first admitted a member of the said New River Company in trust for one of the shares belonging to Sir William Backhouse, Kt., who died 1669, Dame Flower Backhouse becoming possessed of 9 of his shares, and on November 12 same year she appointed Mr. Grant as one of her trustees in the said Company, whereby 'tis manifest that the above cited relation which the Bishop had of Dr. Lloyd and the Countess of Clarendon has not the least foundation.'

Sir William Backhouse died at Swallowfield on the 22 nd 1669 August, 1669, aged 28, leaving no issue.

In a certificate taken by Elias Ashmole, to be registered in the Office of Arms, attested by * Dame Fflower Backhouse,' 1 6th Novr. 1669, we have the following particulars about the funeral of Sir William, which took place at Swallowfield on the 28th September : * His body (accompanied with divers baronets, knights, esquires, and gentlemen, his neighbours, in coaches) was conveyed in a hearse covered with black cloth, and adorned with escocheons, unto the Parish Church of Swallowfield, where he was solemnly interred in a vault under an aisle situate on the north side of the said church, lately built at his and his lady's cost and charges. The officers which directed this funeral and marshalled the proceeding were Elias Ashmole, Esq., Windsor Herald, Henry Dethick, Rouge Croix, and Ffrancis Sandford, Rouge Dragon, Pursuivants at Arms.' Sir William's widow had a handsome marble monument erected in the aisle over the vault. It is still there, in perfect preservation. The inscription, which is in Latin and very lengthy, is occasionally somewhat obscure in meaning. Possibly, in re-

I CLARENDON I

Swallowjield passes to the Hydes 137

lettering it many years ago, a word or two may have got altered. It states that the monument is not that of one man alone, but of a family belonging to the ancient race of the Backhouses, once lords of a large hereditary property, both in town and country, and that it was placed to the memory of Lady Back- house's grandfather,* grandmother,^ aunt,^ uncle and his wife,* brothers,** children,^ parents,^ and husbands.^

On October 19, 1670, Flower, Lady Backhouse, being 1670 then 29 years of age, was married for the third time at Swallowfield Church, by Dr. Lloyd, to Henry Hyde, Viscount Cornbury, K.B.,^ eldest son of Edward Hyde, the celebrated Earl of Clarendon, by his second wife, Frances, daughter and heir of Sir Thomas Aylesbury, Bart., Master of the Requests and of the Mint.

Lord Cornbury, at the time he married Lady Backhouse, was thirty-two years of age, and a widower, having married first, in 1660, Theodosia, daughter of Arthur, Lord Capel,*^ by whom he had one son, Edward, aged at this date nine years.

' Samuel Backhouse. ^ Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Borlase.

' Anna Backhouse, married Thomas Chester.

^ Sir John Backhouse, K.B., and Flower Henshaw.

^ John Backhouse. ^ William and Anne Bishop.

' William Backhouse and Anne Richards.

® William Bishop and Sir William Backhouse, Bt.

* Lord Cornbury was not the first Hyde who settled in Berks ; the Hydes of South Denchworth had been seated there since 1220, and a branch of that family had been for many generations at Purley. It was in the house of Francis Hyde at this latter place that the Lord Chancellor's first wife died in 1632. He was then only Edward Hyde, of the Middle Temple. His wife was Anne, daughter of Sir George Ayliffe of Grittenham, whom he describes as * very fair and beautiful.' She died of small-pox, aged 20^ and was buried at Purley, where there is a monument to her memory.

^^ One of Sir Peter Lel/s best pictures represents two sitting figures of Henry^ Lord Cornbury, and Theodosia, his wife. This picture belongs to the present Earl of Clarendon, and is at the Grove ; a small copy by Russell is at Hampton Court ; another by Sir Peter at Lord Essex's, Cassiobury. She was considered a

138 Swallowjield and its Owners

1671 A few months after their marriage Lord and Lady Cornbury were thrown into mourning by the death of Lord Cornbury's sister, Anne Hyde, Duchess of York, on March 31, followed the same year by the death of one of the Duchess's daughters, and her sole remaining son. Mary and Anne, who alone of her children survived, successively ascended the throne of England. The statement, frequently made, that Queen Anne was born at Swallowfield, is incorrect. She was born in February 1665, more than five years before the Hyde family had any connection with Swallowfield. She probably did visit her uncle there, and the long gallery still bears her name, being called * Queen Anne's Gallery' to this day.^

At the time of Lord Cornbury's marriage, his father was living in exile at Montpellier, having been banished by Act of Parliament in December 1667. He remained there three years, and then went to Moulins. In 1671 he was very anxious to visit his son at Swallowfield, and wrote to the King informing him of the completion of his History, and entreated him * that an old man who had served the Crown above 30 years, in some truth and with some acceptation,' might be permitted to end his days in his own country. He wrote also to Swallow- field on the same subject, but his request was not granted. It has often been stated that Lord Clarendon wrote part of his * History of the Rebellion ' at Swallowfield, but this is clearly not the case ; he died four years after his son had married

great beauty. * The lovely Mrs. Hyde, by long practice, subdued her glances to such a languishing tenderness that her eyes never opened more than those of a Chinese.' [jOourt Beauties of the Reign of Charles 11,^ by Mrs. Jameson.)

^ Before the alterations of 1823 4 there was a room called Queen Anne's Room. There is still one called by that name, but the identity of the original one is lost in the alterations.

D

m z a o o

(O 00

u

h z

o o

CO

z

<

3

o o

CO

1

Swallowfield passes to the Hydes 139

the heiress of Swallowfield, and those four years were spent in exile in France. Lord Clarendon himself tells us that he commenced his * History of the Rebellion' in the Island of SciUy. This was during his six weeks' stay there with Prince Charles, * from Wednesday 4th of March till Thursday 1 6th of April, 1646.' We have also his authority for stating that he continued it in Jersey, whence he removed with the Prince in April same year, and remained there full two years till July, 1 648, and finished there the first four books, * at St. Hillary's (St. Helier), with Lord Capell and Lord Hopton,' and then went to Castle Elizabeth, where he stayed with Sir George Carteret.

Towards the end of the year 1674, Lord Cornbury was 1674 sent for to Rouen in consequence of the critical state of his father, and remained with him till he died on December 19, in the 65th year of his age.

Lord Clarendon's body was brought to England, and was buried in the family vault on the north side of Henry VIL's Chapel in Westminster Abbey. The date of the burial, as appears from the Register of the Abbey, was June 4, 1675. 1675 No monument was ever erected to his memory, and no inscription marks the place of interment, but Dean Stanley says: *Lord Clarendon's name was added in 1867.' Lord Clarendon's will is dated Rouen, Dec. nth (new style, answering to Dec. 1st old style), and is as follows : M, Edward Earl of Clarendon, do ordain this to be my last will and testament. Imprimis : I commit my soul to God, and make the executors of this will my two sons, Henry, Viscount Cornbury, and Laurence Hyde, and commend to them the care of my servants, who have behaved themselves very carefully and honestly to me, and like- wise recommend their sister Frances Hyde and their brother James Hyde, Esq., to their kindness, to whom I am able to leave

140 Swallowfield and its Owners

nothing but their kindness. Item : I give and bequeath to my sons all my papers and writings of what kind soever and leave them entirely to their disposal, as they shall be advised, either by suppressing or publishing, by the advice and approbation of my Lord Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Winchester, whom I doe entreat to be the overseers of this my will. And that they would be both suitors to his Majesty, on my children's behalf, who have all possible need of his Majesty's charity, being children of a father who never committed a fault against his Majesty. Clarendon.'

The year of his father's death Henry, second Earl of Clarendon, was made High Steward of Reading. In the next session of Parliament he persistently opposed the Court, and even signed a protest against an address voted to the King, he being greatly angered at the way in which his father had been treated, but he continued Chamberlain to the Queen, *who,' says Bishop Burnet, * thought herself bound to protect him in a particular manner, his father's persecutions having been on account of her marriage.' 1677 It was probably on account of this that Lady Clarendon was chosen as Governess to Princess Anne, who, though she had not yet completed her fourteenth year, had her own establishments in her father's Palaces at St. James's and at Richmond.

Princess Anne's favourite companion at this time was Sarah Jennings, who was probably already clandestinely married to the handsome Colonel Churchill, and her marriage was shortly afterwards publicly declared. The ceremony had taken place in the presence of Mary, Duchess of York, who gave the bride presents of considerable value. They spent the winter of 1677 and the spring of 1678 at Mintern, in Dorsetshire, with his

Swallowfield passes to the Hydes 141

parents, Sir Winston and Lady Churchill. On their return to London the Duchess of York placed Mrs, Churchill about Princess Anne's person, and then we hear that, much to Lady Clarendon's disgust, Mrs. Churchill and the Princess spent most of their time, including Sundays, gambling at cards, gready to the neglect of the Princess's education.

Either in the year 1679 or 1680, King Charles II. paid a 1679-^ visit to Swallowfield, as in the old churchwarden's accounts for those years there is the following item : * Spent upon the Ringers when his Majesty was at Swalowfeild, i li. 8^.'

On June 14, 1680, we find in Evelyn's Diary the following : 1680 * Came to dine with us the Countess of Clarendon, Dr. Lloyd, Deane of Bangor (since Bishop of St. Asaph), Dr. Burnett, author of the History of the Reformation, and my old friend Mr. Henshaw. After dinner we all went to see the Observatory, and Mr. Flamstead, who shew'd us divers rare instruments, especially the greate quadrant.'

This year Lord Clarendon was made Keeper of Denmark House (afterwards called Somerset House), Treasurer of the Queen's Revenues, and a Privy Councillor.

The next year, however, the prevailing party in the House 1681 of Commons, unable to carry the Exclusion Bill, showed their resentment by voting an address to the King to induce him to remove from his councils Henry, Earl of Clarendon, Lawrence Hyde, his brother, and others who opposed the Bill.

Lord Clarendon seems also about this time to have fallen under the Queen's displeasure, as is seen by the following extract from a singularly illiterate letter addressed by Viscountess Campden ' to her daughter, the Countess of Rudand : ^

^ Lord and Lady Clarendon's town-house was now No. 5 St. James's Square. ' Lady Elizabeth Bertie.

' Katherine Noel, daughter of Lord Campden, who married Lord Roos in 1674 and became Countess of Rutland in 1679.

142 Swallowjield and its Owners

* The Queene is saye to bee displeased with her Treasery, my Lord Claringdone, who has as yet past noe accounts to the Quene of her revenue ; with which she is much dissatisfied, and the Queene has pubglety (j/V) touke notes of it to my Lady Clarendon pubgletly at Corte ; which put her to the blush,' &c.

In April of this year (1681) Lord Clarendon lost his youngest brother, James Hyde, who was drowned off Yar- mouth, in the ^ Gloucester ' frigate, in which he was accompanying the Duke of York to Scotland.

In July of this year (1681) Lord Clarendon and Lord Hyde were on the Committee held at Hampton Court to present to the King a memorial from the distressed French Protestants. The King was pleased to declare that he * holds himself obliged to comfort and support all such afflicted Protestants.' He granted them all sorts of privileges, and ordered a general collec- tion to be made for them * through his Kingdom of England, Dominion of Wales, and town of Berwick.' To this Lord Clarendon subscribed largely, and a very large sum must have ultimately been raised, as there appears to have been a balance of

1682 On August 17, 1682, Lady Clarendon was sponsor to Princess Charlotte Maria, third daughter of the Duke of York, who was baptized by Dr. Compton, Bishop of London, at St. James's, two days after her birth.

Lord Clarendon, being at this time Governor of the New River Company, gave orders for the rebuilding of the largest arch which supported the aqueduct at Edmonton.

1683 On June 19, 1683, Evelyn writes in his journal : * I returned to towne in a coach with the Earl of Clarendon, when passing by the glorious palace his father built but few years before, which they were now demolishing, being sold to certain under-

Swallawfield passes to the Hydes 143

takers, I turned my head the contrary way till the coach was gone past it, least I might minister occasion of speaking of it, which must needs have grieved him that in so short a time their pomp was so sadly fallen.' This palace, which occupied the whole of the site of Stafford Street, Piccadilly, and the building of which cost £50,000, had been sold by Edward, Lord Clarendon, for £25,000.

In July, 1683, Princess Anne was married to Prince George of Denmark, and Lady Clarendon was made her first Lady of the Bedchamber. Sarah, Lady Churchill (whose husband had been created Baron Churchill the previous year), was by the Princess's express desire also made one of her ladies, and many years after, when she was Duchess of Marlborough, she wrote as follows : * Upon the marriage of Princess Anne with the Prince of Denmark in 1683, at her own earnest request to her father, 1 was made one of the Ladies of her Bedchamber. What con- duced to render me the more agreeable to her in this station, was doubtless the dislike she had conceived to most of the other persons about her, particularly to her first Lady of the Bed- chamber, the Countess of Clarendon, a lady whose discourse and manner (though the Princess thought they agreed very well together) could not possibly recommend her to so young a mistress, for she looked like a mad woman and talked like a scholar ; ' and Duchess Sarah goes on to say : * Soon after the decease of King Charles II., Lord Clarendon was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, to which country his lady was to go with him. The Princess received a sensible joy from this event ; not only as it released her from a person very disagree- able to her, but as it gave her an opportunity of promoting me to be first Lady of her Bedchamber, which she immediately did.' Miss Strickland says : * The style in which Lady Clarendon

144 Swallowfield and its Owners

wrote was, as may be seen in the " Clarendon Letters," superior to that of any man of her day. Her letters were specimens of elegant simplicity ; therefore the charge of scholarship was probably true.' Lady Clarendon had no doubt profited by the early tuition she received from the learned Dr. Lloyd. The editor of the * Clarendon Letters ' observes, on this abuse of Lady Clarendon, that * it was impossible for the fiivourite of Anne to have comprehended the virtues of a mind like Lady Clarendon's.'

QUEEN ANNE WHEN PRINCESS, WITH HER SON WILLIAM, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER

From the oHginal painted by Michael Dahl in 1695.

145

CHAPTER XV

SWALLOWFIELD BEFORE THE REVOLUTION

The last year of Charles II.'s life was ushered in by one of 1684 the most memorable frosts ever known. It had commenced in December, and seems to have reached its climax by January i, 1684, when Evelyn records in his Diary that *the weather continuing intolerably severe, streetes of boothes were set upon the Thames, and the aire was so very cold and thicke ... as of many yeares before there had not been the like ; * and he goes on to say that there were all sorts of * shops furnished and full of commodities, even to a printing presse, where the people and ladyes tooke a fancy to have their names and the day and yeare set down when printed on the Thames ; this humour tooke so universally that 'twas estimated the printer gained jCs ^ day for printing a line onely at sixpence a name, besides what he got for ballads etc' ^

On February 2, the |Cing and Queen went to Frost Fair and

^ In a poem commemorative of this frost, published at the time, there, occur the following lines relating to these printers :

* To the Print-house go, Where men the art of Printing soon do know : Where, for a Teaster, you may have your name Printed, hereafter for to shew the same ; And sure, in former ages, ne'er was found A press to print where men so oft were drown'd.'

Thamesi^s Advice to the Painter from her Frigid Zone : or Wonders on the Waters, London : printed by G. Groom on River of Thames.

146 Swallowfield and its Owners

ate a part of the ox that was roasted whole * over against Whitehall.' They were accompanied by Lord and Lady Clarendon, and the following is the facsimile of the card that the latter had printed that day on the ice, which card was formerly in the possession of Mr. William Upcott of the London Institution.

.#MIIII&iii^jliliiysM

HENRYi Earl of Claren<lon, FLORA, Counters of Clarendon. EDWARD, LordCombury.

London : Printed hyCCraom^ on the ICE, j^ on the River dTbamest February 2« 1604- ^^

Lady Clarendon brought away another relic from the Fair, namely a facsimile of the card printed for King Charles 11. and the royal party, when they visited it on January 31, an exact copy of this card being reproduced on the opposite page.

There is in the British Museum a very curious original drawing of the Frost Fair of 1684. It is drawn in pencil slightly shaded with Indian ink, and was the work of Thomas Wyck, usually called * Old Wyck,' an eminent artist of the seventeenth century. It represents the Thames, looking from the western side of the Temple-stairs. London Bridge is faintly shown in the centre at the back, with all the curious buildings standing upon it. The date when the drawing was done was two days

Swallowfield before the Revolution 147

after Lord and Lady Clarendon's visit, i.e. * Munday, February the 4th, 1 683-4/ which is written on it in a contemporaneous hand.

^%%Wk%^^lil^^%1^

^tvv:

CHAR LES, KING.

JAMES DUKE. "Hi KATHARINE, QUEEN.

^ MARY DUTCHESS.

^ ANN, PRINCESSE

GEORGE, PRINCE.

HANS IN KELDER.

London: Printed by G:Croom . on the ICE, on die River of fi6am«r, jMuary^l. 1684.

[' Hans in Kelder ' signifies * Jack in the cellar/ and was no doubt a playful allu- sion of the Merry Monarch to the interesting condition of the Princess Anne.]

Another view of this Frost Fair appears in an impression of the print referred to in the Diary of Evelyn, which is to be found in the Royal Collection of Topographical Prints given by George IV. to the British Museum.

On October 28 of this year Lord Clarendon was proposed a member of the Royal Society at Gresham College, and was treated to a banquet on the occasion, being accompanied by his friend John Evelyn.

The first week in February 1685 (old style) brought great 168$ changes to Lord Clarendon and his family. Macaulay says :

L2

148 Swallowfield and its Owners

* The contending factions in King Charles's councils had looked forward with anxiety to the morning of February 2. The struggle between Halifax and Rochester (Laurence Hyde, Lord Clarendon's brother) seemed to be approaching a decisive crisis. Halifax had undertaken to prove his rival guilty of such dishonesty or neglect in the conduct of the finances as ought to be punished by dismissal from the public service/

But that very morning King Charles was suddenly stricken with his last illness, and in four days he was no more. Rochester was declared Lord Treasurer and thus became Prime Minister, and Halifax had to give up the Privy Seal to Henry, Earl of Clarendon. Lord Clarendon, as High Steward of Reading, sent a letter thither, received on February 9, announcing the death of Charles IL * of blessed memory * and the proclamation of King James at Whitehall on the 6th instant, consequently proclaimed this day in the market-place by the town-clerk at twelve o'clock &c. Lady Clarendon continued Lady of the Bedchamber to Catherine, the Queen Dowager, who removed from Whitehall to Somerset House, where she held her Dowager- Court with considerable splendour.

In March of this year Lady Clarendon was much distressed at the death of Mary, the daughter of her great friend John Evelyn, who died of smallpox. Lady Clarendon wished the Queen to make her a Maid of Honour, but the young lady, who seems to have been a paragon of virtue and accomplish- ments, showed no eagerness to enter Court life. Her father was not, however, above mentioning in his Diary, with pride, the * divers noble persons ' who sent their coaches with six horses to honour her funeral at Deptford, amongst whom was the Earl of Clarendon, whilst Lady Clarendon was the recipient of one of the sixty memorial rings distributed on the occasion.

JOHN evELYN Frsm so Engrafmg iy ffiatUmt aflir

Swallowfield before the Revolution 149

On May 21, Lord Clarendon had Evelyn to dine with him to meet Sir William Dugdale, Garter King-at-Arms, author of the * Monasticon,* who was then eighty-two years of age, and the latter showed them ^ a draught of the exact shape and dimensions of the crowne the Queen had been crowned withal, together with the Jewells and pearles, their weight and value, which amounted to ;^ 1 00,6 5 8 sterling. The next day Lord Clarendon took Evelyn and * a French gentleman ' to the House of Lords, and placed them * next the Bar, just below the Bishops, very commodiously both for hearing and seeing/

On July 9 Lady Clarendon supped at Lambeth with Elias Ashmole, and met Evelyn, the Bishop of St. Asaph, and Dr. Tenison, and they were treated ^ at a very greate feaste.*

• On the 19th of this month Lord Clarendon accompanied the Duchess of Monmouth * when she went to the Tower to see the Duke after he had been condemned. The Duke spoke chiefly to Lord Clarendon, whose intercession he earnestly implored, but the latter was not able to hold out any hopes, and he was executed two days after. Meanwhile those persons that had been on Monmouth's side in the western counties were being relentlessly massacred by Kirke and his * Lambs,' and in August commenced the cruelties of the * Bloody Assizes.' Prominent amongst these barbarities was the case of Alice, Lady Lisle, who was condemned by Judge Jeffreys to be burnt alive for having harboured in her house two fugitives from Sedgemoor. Lady St. John and Lady Abergavenny wrote a letter to Lord Clarendon stating that, though her husband was one of the judges of Charles L, Lady Lisle had always been a determined Royalist, and had been a favourer of the King's friends in their greatest extremities during the late Civil War : among others, of these ladies themselves ; and on these

^ Anne, Countess of Buccleuch.

ISO Swallowfield and its Owners

grounds, as well as for her genuine loyalty, earnestly recommended her to pardon. Her son had served in the King's army, and she had often declared that she shed more tears than any woman in England on the day of the death of Charles I., and after the attainder of her husband his estate was granted to her at the instance of Lord Chancellor Clarendon. This letter was read by Lord Clarendon to the King, but all intercession was in vain, the only commutation being the block instead of the stake. Lady Lisle underwent this sentence at the age of eighty, with great courage,^ in the market-place at Winchester, where she was attended by her daughter Triphena.^

' Lady Lisle fell asleep during her trial, and Lady Tipping, her sister, who slept with her the night before her execution, says she slept soundly.

^ Triphena Lisle married first Richard Lloyd and secondly Robert Grove. Her daughter, Elizabeth Lloyd, married first Lord James Russell (fifth son of the ist Duke of Bedford by his wife Lady Anne Carr, and brother of the celebrated Lord William Russell), and secondly Sir Henry Hoghton, fifth Bart.

15^

CHAPTER XVI

JOHN EVELYN AT SWALLOWFIELD

We have a charming account of Swallowfield as it was in 1685, 1685 from the pen of John Evelyn, who spent some time there in the autumn of that year. He writes in his Diary : *22nd October. I accompanied my Lady Clarendon to her house at Swallowfield in Berks, dining by the way at Mr. Graham's Lodge at Bagshot ; ^ hence went to Swallowfield. This house is after the antient building of honourable gentlemen's houses, when they kept up antient hospitality, but the gardens and waters are as elegant as 'tis possible to make a flat by art and industrie and no meane expence, my Lady being extraordinarily skill'd in the flowery part, and my Lord in diligence of planting, so that I have hardly seen a seate which shews more tokens of it than what is to be found here, not only in the delicious and rarest fruite of a garden, but in those innumerable timber trees in the ground about the seate, to the greatest ornament and benefit of the place. There is one orchard of 1,000 golden and other cider pippins ; walks and groves of elms, limes, oaks, and other trees. The garden is

' James Graham of Levens, Privy Purse to King Charles 1 1., was second son of Sir George Graham, Bt., of Netherby, and brother of Viscount Preston of Esk. He married in 1675 ^^^ beautiful Dorothy Howard, Maid-of-Honour to the Queen Dowager, daughter of William Howard and granddaughter of the first Earl of Berk- shire. She was a ward of John Evelyn. James Graham was Keeper and Ranger of Bagshot. He was one of the staunchest of Jacobites and clung to King James to the last. In 1696 he was arrested.

152 Swallowfield and its Owners

so beset with all manner of sweete shrubbs that it perfumes the aire. The distribution also of the quarters, walks, and parterres is excellent ; the nurseries, kitchen garden, full of the most desirable plants ; two very noble orangeries, well furnished ; but above all, the canall and fishponds,^ the one fed with a white, the other with a black running water, fed by a quick and swift river,^ so well and plentifully stor'd with fish that for pike, carp, breame, and tench I never saw anything approaching it. We had at every meal carp and pike, of size fit for the table of a Prince ; and what added to the delight was to see the hundreds taken by the drag, out of which, the cooke standing by, we pointed out what we had most mind to, and had carp that would have been worth at London 20J. apiece. The waters are flagged about with Calamus aromaticus, with which my lady has hung a closet that retains the smell very perfectly. There is also a certaine sweete willow and other exotics, also a very fine bowling greene, meadow, pasture, and wood ; in a word, all that can render a country seate delightfid. There is, besides, a well- furnished library in the house.* Evelyn thus alludes to his departure from Swallowfield : * We return'd to London, having been treated with all sorts of cheere and noble freedom by that most religious and virtuous lady. She was now preparing to go for Ireland with her husband, made Lord Deputy, and went to this country house and antient seate of her father and family to set things in order during her absence ; but never were good people and neighbours more concerned than all the country (the poor especially) for the departure of this charitable woman ; every one was in teares, and she as unwilling to part from them. There was amongst them the daughter of a poore labouring man,

^ The canal was filled in by Sir Henry Russell, second Bart * The Loddon.

John Evelyn at Swallowfield 153

who had sustained her parents by her labour^ and has for many years refiis'd marriage, or to receive any assistance from the parish besides the little hermitage my lady gives her rent free ; she lives on foure pence a day, which she gets by spinning ; says she abounds, and can give alms to others, living in greate humility and contente, without any apparent affectation or singularity ; she is continually working, praying, or reading ; visits the sick ; is not in the least given to talks ; very modest ; of a simple, not unseemly manner ; of a comely countenance, clad very plaine, but cleane and tight. In sure she appears a saint of an extraordinary sort, in so religious a life as is !seldom met with in villages now-a-daies/ In the previous September Evelyn writes in his Diary : * Lord Clarendon wrote to let me know that the King, being pleased to send him Lord Lieutenant into Ireland, was also pleased to nominate me one of the Commissioners to execute the office of Privy Seal during his Lieutenancy there, it behoving me to wait upon his Majesty to give him thanks for this greate honour. I accompanied his Lordship (Clarendon) to Windsor (dining by the way at Sir Henry CapeU's at Kew),* where, his Majesty receiving me with extraordinary kindnesse, I kiss*d his hand, &c.' Lord Clarendon began his journey to Chester en route for Ireland on December 16, 1685. Evelyn writes on that day : * I accompanied my Lord Lieutenant as far as St. Albans, there going out of towne with him neere 200 coaches of all the great officers and nobilitie.' Lord Clarendon arrived in Dublin the first week in January. The following (hitherto unpublished) letter, written by George

* Sir Henry Capel, brother of the Earl of Essex. Evelyn says of his house : < It is an old timber house, but his garden has the choicest fruit of any plantation in England, as he is the most industrious and understanding in it' Elsewhere he says, * His orangerie and myrtetum are most beautiful.' Sir Henry was made Lord Capel of Tewkesbury in 1692.

154 Swallowfield' and its Owners

Trumbull to his brother Sir William Trumbull, gives an account of his arrival. It is addressed to * His Majesty's envoyA extraVie at Paris,' is dated from Dublin, January 12, 1685-6, and ends as follows : * My Lord Lieutenant Satterday last landed 6 miles from this place about 5 in ye morning, which was soe early that people could not putt themselves into so good a posture as they would to receive him, however, never was man in this world more welcome anywhere than he was to ye Protestants who received him with open hearts. He was conducted to towne with ye accustomed ceremonies (his lady who had been mightily indisposed at sea tho' had a short passage of 1 2 hours, coming privately before) and went presently to ye councell where his Commission being read and himselfe sworne, the Lord Chancellor on delivering up the sword made him a short but pithy speech which my Lord answered as briefly, but extremely to ye satisfac- tion of all ye English, declaring that he had particular order from his Majesty to assure them that ye Irish Act of Settlement should not be altered, &c.'

The account of Lord Clarendon's proceedings in Ireland may be read in his letter to the Ministry at London, which contains a complete history of his government there from the day he entered Ireland to the moment he embarked again for England upon his being recalled, and the chain of his correspondence is never broken by the absence of so much as one link.

On the 8th of the following February Lady Clarendon addressed the following letter to Evelyn from Dublin :

^Sir, — I was not pleased to see your letter, because I was just writing to you ; so that now my letter must pass for a forced answer, which was intended for a great complaint that I am come into a country that you have not cultivated : not a tree.

yohn Evelyn at Swallowfield 155

not a shrub is here ! though the place is fertile, the sun is kind enough to it, and you are famous here. I must not rail at so new and kind an acquaintance, though I have little hopes of its amendment, but sure I may justly be angry with my own country folks who will have it that the garden of Chapel-Izod ^ is like Swallowfield, a close walk of ashes and box hedges preferred to one of your best and dearest children.^ But what can anger do, when I have no hopes in anything but your prayers for my return into the garden of Eden ? But I hope I shall have them for a more lasting Paradise, as you shall be sure of mine ; but first I shall be glad to meet you and my lady Silvius ^ at Deptford, as she returns from Denmark, for though she will be my near neighbour here, I do not find I am like to have her correspon- dence. All your children may be in Denmark, for any good they do me ; I have not had one word from any one of them. Now our meeting at the Cockpit is gone, you must find some other place to discipline them in. I fear else you will lose your power with them, as I shall your good opinion if I detain you longer, but after all I must beg you to believe me your most affectionate humble servant, F. Clarendon.'

During Lord Clarendon's absence in Ireland, John Evelyn went to Swallowfield with Lord Cornbury, and in May of that year the Lord Deputy wrote to him saying, * You may go as freely to Swallowfield without my Lord Cornbury as with him ; though

^ Chapel-Izod was the country residence of the Lord Lieutenant

^ This seems to agree with the statement that John Evelyn planted the garden

and shrubberies at Swallowfield. The old yew hedge, the cedars &c. still flourishing,

were no doubt planted by his orders, as also the mulberry trees, of which the last

was standing in 1S98.

' Anne Howard, sister of Dorothy, Mrs. James Graham ; she married Sir

Gabriel Sylvius.

1 56 Swullowfield and its Owners

you will find little else, you may have what fruit and fish you have a mind to, and very good things out of the potagfere.* 1687 In January 1687 Lord Clarendon, having been Lord Deputy of Ireland for a year, received his recall in the most abrupt manner, and left in February. Lord Tyrconnel succeeded him, James II. being determined to favour the Roman Catholics in every way. The following is Lord Clarendon's letter to the Lord Treasurer ^ on the subject : —

* Dublin Castle, Jan. 8th, 1686-7.

* To-morrow I shall have been here a year ; and therefore I shall begin a new number to my letters. Though I have not much to say at this time by reason of the season, when all the people are at play, yet I must write to you as often as I can, and for want of other matter let me brag how perfect a drudge I have been all this year. There is no office I have not rummaged into, and, I think, can give a good account of. I am sure the revenue never was in so good order, the eflPect whereof would have appeared by the end of this month. This has been laborious enough ; but I thought I could never lay out myself too much to serve the King, and to show him more than ever he knew yet ; and if I were to continue, I might now have had some pleasure ; but that I have never been used to, and know not why I should think of it at this time of the day. Indeed I think it is time to leave oflF the thoughts of having to do with the world. I thank God, without practising the greatest villany, I cannot be charged with any fault in my administration here ; which, though it will not preserve one, is a great comfort. I do no more expect to keep the Privy Seal than I do to have a recompense, whereby to repair my fortune, but shall apply my-

* Lord Rochester, his brother.

John Evelyn at Swallowfield 157

self to the payment of my debts, which, by the blessing of God, shall be done, whatever I part with. Since the writing of this I have received the signification of the King's pleasure from my Lord President ; a copy of whose letter and my answer you have here enclosed. I am of opinion his lordship, if he had so thought fit, might have given me longer warning, but it may be it is decreed I am to be worse used than ever any man was before me ; but upon my word, this I write or say only to yourself I will take your advice in everything, but as for writing to the Queen, I cannot do it yet ; that is, upon so short warning. ... I would be very glad of your advice as to my journey, whether I should go publickly, and receive the compli- ments which will be made me upon the road. ... I know what my own inclinations are. I purpose to land at Chester and then to go out of the road to some friend's house ; so to shake off some of my loose train, and after a day or two rest to come up quietly to some lodging which I will appoint to be taken for me for a week. ... If my Lord Tyrconnel arrives here this month I doubt not but I shall embark the first week of the next.'

Lord Tyrconnel's arrival spread dismay throughout the whole English population, and Macaulay says : * Clarendon was accom- panied, or speedily followed, across St. George's Channel by a large proportion of the most respectable inhabitants of Dublin, gentle- men, tradesmen, and artificers, and it was said that 1,500 families migrated in a few days.'

Lord Clarendon, on landing, went straight to Chester, where he spent three days at the Deanery. Cartwright, Bishop of Ches- ter, in his Diary, tells us that on February 2 1 he and his wife, son, and daughter went to meet Lord Clarendon * 5 miles from Chester on the sands, into which he was conducted to the Dean- ery with all expressions of joy.'

158 Swallowfield and its Owners

Lord Clarendon received from the King a pension of ;^3,ooo per annum, but on his return the Privy Seal was taken from him, and given to Lord Arundell of Wardour, a zealous Roman Catholic. The previous year his brother. Lord Rochester, had been deprived of his office of Lord Treasurer, and this fall of the two Hydes, brothers-in-law to the King, was one of the turning points in public affiiirs.

In the summer the Clarendons were back at Swallowfield, and on August 1 5 Evelyn writes : * Went to visit my Lord Clarendon at Swallowfield, where was my Lord Cornbury, just arriv'd from Denmark, whither he had accompanied the Prince of Denmark two months before, and now come back.' And he goes on to say that Lord Cornbury entertained them at Swallowfield with an account of * the miserable tyranny under which that nation (Denmark) lives.' * The King,' he said, * keeps them under by an army of 40,000 men, all Germans, he not daring to trust his owne subjects.'

159

CHAPTER XVII

SWALLOWFIELD AFTER THE REVOLUTION

Lord and Lady Clarendon were now a great deal at Swallow- 1688 field, and the following extracts from Lord Clarendon's diary concern days that they spent there between 1688-90 : —

* Wednesday^ April 1 7/A; My wife and I went to Swallowfield. Mr. Keightley ^ went with us. We found my brother, ^ Mr. Boyle, ^ and Mr. Gwyn, ^ came in just before us.

* Thursday^ April 1 9/A. Captain Edward St. Lo ^ dined with us ; he came from his quarters at Wokingham. In the after- noon we went to see Mr. Parry, ^ but found him not at home ; however, we went in and took a view of his new house. (Wokefield).

* Friday^ April loth. In the morning my brother and Mr, Boyle went to London. Mr. Parry dined with me. In the

* Thomas Keightley of Hertingfordbury, Herts, a cousin of John Evelyn, and married to Lady Frances Hyde, Lord Clarendon's sister.

* Laurence Hyde, Earl of Rochester.

' The Honourable Robert Boyle, son of the great Earl of Cork, was an eminent philosopher, and distinguished as much for his virtues and benevolence as for his genius.

** Son of William Gwyn of New Windsor, one of the auditors of the King's Exchequer.

^ Captain Edward St. Lo, son of Sir John St. Lo, married Alice, daughter of Laurence Hyde. Lord Clarendon ' christened,' t,e, stood godfather to his son ; Mrs. Laurence Hyde, the widow Chiffinch, and Mr. Chiffinch being his * partners.'

* Mr. Parry, Envoy to Portugal, temp, Charles IL, succeeded to Wokefield through his mother, the daughter of Peter Weaver, who bought it in 1626 from Francis Plowden.

i6o Swallowfield and its Owners

evening I rid out to take the air, and met my son and Mr. Young coming from Sarum.

* Saturday y April list. I went to see the Bishop of Winchester ^ at Farnham and dined with him. Mr. Keightley, Mr. Parry, and Mr. Young went with me. (The Bishop, Dr. Peter Mew, was an old friend of Lady Clarendon's family, and was vicar of St. Mary*s, Reading, in 1664.)

^Sundayy April 22nd Dr. Hungerford* and Mr. Pocock dined.

^Monday^ April 23^/. In the evening the Corporation of Reading sent one of their seijeants to know when they might wait on me. This was the first civility they had shewed me since the new regulation, and I don't much care to have to do with them, all the honest men being turned out. • So I sent them word I was going out of the contrey, and when I returned I would let them know it.

* Tuesday y April 24/A. Mr. Bromstead and his wife dined with us.' ^

^ Dr. Peter Mew, so^ of Ellis Mew, was bom at Purse Caundle, Dorset, 1618. During the rebellion he was an officer in the King's army, and went into the King's service in Holland in 166S. He was made Vice-Chancellor of Oxford same year, Bishop of Bath and Wells in 1678, and Winchester 1684. This same year he was commanded by the King, at the request of the gentry of Somerset, to take arms against Monmouth. He directed the artillery at Sedgemoor and received a medal for his services on that occasion. By an act passed 1700 the Mew family changed their name to ' St. John.' There is a portrait of the fighting bishop in the Council House at Wells.

' Dr. Francis Hungerford of Reading.

" At Reading, in February, twenty-four Tory Aldermen were dismissed and twenty-four new Aldermen were appointed. Twenty-three of these immediately declared against the Indulgence and were dismissed in their turn. (Records of the Corporation.)

^ We have ^iled to find out who these Bromsteads were. The name occurs but rarely. In 1372 Maud Bajocis released all right to the manor of Peveril to William Brusted or Bumpsted and Eleanor his wife. In 1561 a Christopher Bumpstede sent a memorial to Queen Elizabeth. About 1600^ Ellen, daughter of William Brampstead of Cambridge, married Thomas Scott. In 1730 Charles

Swallowfield after the Revolution i6i

On May 1 2 Lord Clarendon was invited to attend at the Pri- mate's at Lambeth to meet several of the Bishops who were deliberating on the course they should take with regard to the Declaration. On the i8th a petition was written by the Arch- bishop and signed by six Bishops saying the Declaration was ille- gal, which Lloyd, Bishop of St. Asaph, the Clarendons' friend, presented to the King, and on June 8 the seven Bishops appealed before the King in Council and were committed to the Tower. On Trinity Sunday, June 10, was born that most unfortunate Prince commonly called the Pretender. Owing to the King's folly in assembling chiefly Roman Catholics for the event, and omitting to invite those who should have been present, the Protestant zealots maintained that the baby had been introduced in a warming-pan by the Jesuits 1 Amongst those who professed to believe this ridiculous tale were Flora, Countess of Clarendon, and her friend Lloyd, Bishop of St. Asaph, and this belief was fostered by the fact that no member of the Hyde femily, male or female, had been summoned for the event. Lord Clarendon, besides being a Privy Councillor, was^ with his brother, the natural protector of the rights of the two Princesses, Anne and Mary, his nieces, but though living close by the Palace, in Jermyn Street,, was not called ; it was even stated that Lady Claren- don was refused access to the Queen's Bedchamber, and Lord Clarendon tells us in his diary on June 10, 1688, that he was left to learn at St. James's Church, from the agitation and whispers of the congregation, that his niece had ceased to be heiress presumptive of the crown. Meanwhile the Bishops were let out on bail, and Macaulay says that * Lloyd was detained in Palace Yard by admirers who struggled to touch his hands and

Brampsted was Clerk of His Majesty's Robes and Wardrobes. Jansen painted a portrait of * le Chevalier Brousted.'

M

1 62 Swallowjield and its Owners

kiss the skirts of his robe, till Clarendon, with some difficulty, rescued him and conveyed him home by a bypath/

On July lo Lord Clarendon was much distressed at the elopement of his son, Lord Cornbury, with Catharine O'Brian, daughter of Lady Katherine Williamson, by her first husband Henry, Lord Ibrackan (son of Lord Thomond). Many of Lord Clarendon's letters are full of projects of marrying him to a suit- able wife, and asking assistance of his brother Lord Rochester and others in the furtherance of his plans. Money seems to have been wanting on Lord Clarendon's side, but Lady Claren- don, though only the step-mother, offered her * King's shares ' for the advancement of these negotiations. The Duchess of Beau- fort wanted Lord Cornbury to marry Lady Betty Stanhope, daughter of Lord Chesterfield ; Lord Clarendon had some idea of a * widow Whitmore,' * and then wished for the daughter of Sir Stephen Fox, but the young man chose for himself. The following is Lord Clarendon's entry in his diary on the subject :

* July loth. When I came home from prayers in the morning my wife told me my son was gone away with Miss O'Brian,^ my Lady Katherine's daughter, which struck me to the heart. The more I think of it, the more it troubles me. I had been in treaty this last year with my Lady Catharine and Sir Joseph William- son ^ for this young lady, at my son's desire, for I had no

* The Honble. Charles Bertie, writing to his niece the Countess of Rutland on December 17th, 1685, says : * I am just now returned from accompanying my Lord Lieutenant as far as St. Albans in his journey to Ireland. Wee say, my Lord Cornbury is to marry the fine widdow Whitmore.'

* Henry, Lord 0*Brian, her father, eldest son of Henry, Earl of Thomond, perished at sea in the ' Gloucester' in 1684 at the same time as James Hyde, Lord Clarendon's brother.

■ Sir Joseph Williamson's career is thus described by Evelyn : * He was sonn of a poore clergyman somewhere in Cumberland, brought up at Queen's College, Oxford, of which he came to be a fellow, then travelled, returning when the King was restored, was received as a clerk under Mr. Secretary Nicholas ; Sir Henry

Swallowfield after the Revolution 163

acquaintance with them, but finding she had no position, without which I can make no settlements, and that her estate does not come to her part till the Duke of Richmond's debts are paid, which are still near ^14,000, I broke very fairly off. It is the most inconvenient match that could have been for me ; a young woman badly bred, no manner of advantage, and an unavoidable charge. Besides, it is a base thing, and unbecoming a man of honour, to steal a child from a parent. Thank God, I had no hand in it. O Lord, make me able to bear this irrecoverable blow. Good God ! that my poor family should be brought into utter misery for him, who was the only hopes of raising it ! O Lord, my heart is even broke I My brother, whose kindness is never wanting, quickly came to me ; but I told him 1 would not see my son nor take any notice of the match. He went then to my Lady Katherine, who was full of indignation, as I confess she had reason to be. My wife, who had always been as fond of my son as if he had been her own, helped him all she could in this match, believing it a convenient and advantageous match for him, but finding I was so much troubled at it, she took a lodging for them in Leicester Fields, whither they came in the evening. It seems they were married at Totteridge. Mrs. Garraway and Mr. Keightley had been assisting in the contrivance, and went away with them, thinking, I verily believe, that they had done well in it. ^July iith. Reflecting with myself that this young man,

Bennett (Lord Arlington) succeeding, Willianison is transfcrfed to him, who, loving his ease more 'than businesse, remitted all to his man Williamson, and in a short time let him so into the seacret of affaires that there was a kind of necessity to advance him, and so by his subtlety, dexterity, and insinuation he got now to be principal secretary ; absolutely Lord Arlington's creature and ungratefull enough. . . . Sir Joseph was a musitian, could play at Jeu de Goblets, exceedingly formal, a severe master to his servants, but so inward with my Lord O'Brian that after a few moneths of that gentleman's death he married his widow, who, being sister and heire of the Duke of Richmond, brought him a noble fortune. She was much cen- sured for marrying so meanly, being herselfe allied to the Royal Family.'

M 2

1 64 Swallowfield and its Owners

who, I doubted, had made himself unhappy, was my son and only child ; that I ought to make the best of a bad market, and not to add misery to misery, I yielded to the persuasions of my wife and my brother and went to see my son and his wife. I dined with them, and took them home to my house in the evening. I endeavoured to wait upon my Lady Katherine, but she was not, or would not be, at home.

* July i2th. In the afternoon I was with my Lady Katherine and found Sir Joseph with her. I made my compliments as well as she would give me leave, but she would not hear me say any- thing (which I confess I could not blame her for), and so I came away. I desired Sir Joseph to do good offices, and persuade my lady to see her daughter, but he said with a wonderful stiffness that he was the unfittest man in the world to interpose between my lady and her daughter. I said I thought quite the contrary, that he was the fittest, and so we parted. They went immediately to Cobham.'

The quarrel, however, was soon at an end, for on July 17 Lord Clarendon writes : * My Lady Katherine and Sir J. W came to town. I went to see them ; they were pretty well pacified. In the evening Sir J. visited my daughter, and said her mother would quickly see her. We all went to the Duchess of Richmond's * to see the fireworks, which were made for the birth of the Prince of Wales.

* And again on July 1 8 Sir J. W. came to my daughter and carried her to her mother ; so God be thanked that breach is made up. He afterwards visited my wife and me ; and in the evening we went to my Lady Katherine.'

* The fireworks were in honour of the Queen's * up-sitting/ and cost thousands of pounds.

Swallowfield after the Revolution 165

A day or two after we find Lord and Lady Clarendon staying with Sir J. and Lady Katherine Williamson at Cobham.

On July 28 Lord and Lady Clarendon and the newly married pair went to Swallowfield, and the following month Lord Cornbury was there again, accompanied by Lord Mountrath.^

On August 18 Lord Clarendon went from Swallowfield to Chancellor Jeflfreys's house at Bulstrode for an arbitration about the New River, * but of the parties only Mr. Docmanique appeared, so nothing was arranged.' Lord Clarendon then left for Swallowfield, and the Lord Chancellor took him in his calash as far as Mr. Hickman's living. Lord Clarendon tells us that during the drive Lord Jeflfreys * talked very fi-eely of all his afl&irs, called the Judges a thousand fools and knaves ; that Chief Justice Wright was a beast. The King and Queen were to dine with him ; that he had still great hopes the King would be moderate when the Parliament met. . . . When we came to Hickman's, I staid about an hour, then left them, having at least fourteen miles to go.'

Lord and Lady Clarendon were at Swallowfield in September, when the report of the invasion of the Prince of Orange created a general panic. On November 5 he landed at Torbay, and ten days later Lord Clarendon heard that his son, Lord Cornbury, had deserted the King and joined the Prince.

The day after receiving this news. Lord Clarendon writes in his diary : * I waited on the King at Mr. Chiffinch's. I said what I was able upon so melancholy a subject. God knows I was in confusion enough. The King was very gracious to me and said he pitied me with all his heart, and that he would stiU be kind to my family.'

^ Coote, Lord Mountrath. The title became extinct in 1802.

1 66 Swallowfield and its Owners

In December Lord Clarendon, accompanied by others, went to interview the Prince of Orange, who was staying at Berwick,^ near Salisbury, and whilst there Monsieur Bentinck told him it was a most wicked and false insinuation to suggest that the Prince aspired to the crown, * which,* says Lord Clarendon,

* gave me great satisfaction/

1689 On January 1 5 Lord Clarendon went to the Archbishop of Canterbury, where he met several of the Bishops as well as Lord Ailesbury and Evelyn, and they discussed the affairs of the State, and we are told by Evelyn in his Diary that Lord Clarendon

* opposed and spoke with such vehemence ' against the assump- tion of the crown without offering some conditions to the absent King.

In February, the Prince and Princess of Orange having been declared King and Queen of England, Lord Clarendon went to Swallowfield to avoid meeting his niece, who arrived at Whitehall on the 1 2th, but he left a letter for the Princess with Lady Clarendon, who remained in London.

On February 1 3 Lord Clarendon writes : * In the evening I had a letter from my wife, telling me that the Princess of Orange arrived yesterday, that she had waited upon her and was civilly received by her, but it was in the crowd, so she had no particular discourse ; ' and the next day he says before he was up he had a letter from his wife, * sent by an express who came all night,' and another from his brother, urging him to hasten to town.

Accordingly, on February 16 he writes : * To gratify my friends I left Swallowfield in the morning and came to town about 6 in the evening, having rested my horses a little at

^ A house of Sir George Howe's, but then inhabited by the widow of Edward Hyde of Hatch, a cousin of Lord Clarendon.

Swallowfield after the Revolution 167

Egham. My wife told me she had some discourse with the Princess of Orange, that she was much dissatisfied with me, and asked what I had to do with the succession. My wife told her what I had done was for her and her sister's service ; and she desired her Majesty to appoint me a time when I might wait on her ; to which the new Queen answered that she would not appoint me any time nor speak in private with me.'

1 68 Swallowjield and its Owners

CHAPTER XVIII

SWALLOWFIELD REBUILT BY LORD CLARENDON

Lord Clarendon, having refused to take the new oaths, was advised to go abroad, but he did not do so, and merely retired 1689 to Swallowfield, where he settled on March 4, 1689. And on May 28 a letter was read in the House of Lords from him desiring to be excused, * having received an account of his own affairs in the country which compels him to hasten out of town.' The same day that Lord Clarendon arrived at Swallowfield Cornet Richards, his wife's relation, came from his quarters at Farnham to stay with him, and brought the news that a messenger had been sent to Bagshot to apprehend Mr. Graham, who, however, was not at home.

Lord and Lady Clarendon seem to have been most hospitable, and frequently entertained their friends and neigh- bours. During March and April of this year, we find by his diary that the following persons, amongst others, dined with him at Swallowfield : —

Mr. Harrison of Beech Hill,^ Mr. Tutt,* Mr. Pocock from

^ Mr. Harrison, son of John Harrison of Beech Hill, by his second wife, Elizabeth, daughter of George Carleton of Huntercombe, and grandson of Richard Harrison of Finchampsted, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Unton of Strathfieldsaye.

' A descendant of Alexander Tutt of Ilmiston, Wilts, who married Anne, daughter of Richard Swayne of Blandford, a relation of the Hydes. Several mem- bers of the Tutt family were living in Berks, and Margery Tutt married Thomas Garrard of Shinfield. (Visit. Wilts, 1623.)

Swallowfield rebuilt by Lord Clarendon 169

Reading,^ Dr. Hungerford,* Mr. Bromsted and his wife, Mr. Richards of Reading,^ Mr. James, Dr. Offley,* Mr. Hamley,^ Mr. Lake,* and Mr. Baron.

At the same time Lord Clarendon occupied himself about his estate, and commenced to enlarge and rebuild a great portion of his house at Swallowfield. The day after he arrived, he writes in his diary : * Went to Risley Mill,^ and the other tenants, to sec what reparations were wanting, and I ordered them to be made and timber to be cut for those uses ; * and on April 11, after mentioning that, it being Coronation Day, the bells rang all day long, and fireworks took place in the evening. Lord Clarendon says : * Mr. Talman came to me from London.'

Talman was an eminent architect and was * Comptroller of the Works ' to King William. He was now employed by Lord Clarendon to rebuild Swallowfield. On June 6 Lord Clarendon writes : * In the morning some tradesmen of Reading were with me, with whom I agreed about pulling down the old glass and old wainscot.* This same day he writes : * My Lady Dorchester,^ and Mr. Grahme, came to dinner from Chertsey

^ Giles Pocock, Mayor of Reading in 1673 ^^'^ again in 1686.

' Dr. Francis Hungerford practised as a physician in Reading and is buried at St Lawrence's. He was descended from Lord Hungerford, and was a relative of Lord Clarendon. He married Elizabeth, daughter of William Keat. In 1669 Lady Clarendon, then Lady Backhouse, had stood sponsor to his daughter, who was christened * Flower.'

' A relation of Lady Clarendon's.

* A connection of John Evelyn's, who says the Offleys were a worthy and ancient Staffordshire family. Dr. Offley was rector of Abinger, his son was groom- porter to King Charles IL

^ Probably df the same family as Charles Hamley, whose wife Martha was buried at St Lawrence's, Reading, in 1636.

* Dr. Lake was tutor to Queen Mary, Lord Clarendon's niece. ^ Risley Mill still exists, about two miles from Swallowfield.

* Catherine Sedley, daughter of Sir Charles Sedley, created Countess of Dor- chester by James IL

1 70 Swallowjield and its Owners

and went away again in the afternoon. She told me some letters of King James's had been intercepted, among which was one to her.' In the middle of June the Clarendons went to drink the waters at Tunbridge and stayed there till the end of July, and Lord Clarendon tells us that his health was much mended, and the difficulty of breathing, which sent him to the waters, was quite removed. No doubt also Lord and Lady Clarendon were glad to be away from Swallowfield during the commencement of the building operations. On August 5 they went back to Swallowfield, and Lord Clarendon writes in his journal for that day : * We found the house almost pulled down, and the foundation of the building towards the garden laid and brought three foot above ground.' The next day, he says, * Mr. Talman came to look upon the building.' And on August 7 he writes : * Mr. Talman returned to London.' I sent Tom Apprice ^ with him in order (jiV) to his journey to the Isle of Wight.' Swallowfield now being in the hands of the builder, Lord and Lady Clarendon divided their time between London and Cornbury, and at the latter place they entertained Mr. Oakes, the rector of Shinfield, and his wife. But Lord Clarendon continually journeyed to Swallowfield to see how the work was progressing. On October 29 he was at Reading and ' lay at Mr. Pocock's,' and whilst there he had visits from Mr. Blagrave * and Mr. Aldworth.^ The next day he inspected the

^ Thomas Apprice, Lord Clarendon's servant, must have been related to the Thomas Apprice of Berks who made his will in 1 549, because it is clear that the latter had some connection with Swallowfield and probably lived in the parish, as his * base-bom daughter Elizabeth Swallowfeld, otherwise Grafton,' is named in his will, and he also leaves 40^. per annum to Thomas Gyrdeler, this name being an old one in the parish of Swallowfield, the present representatives of the family still carrying on business at the White House in the parish.

' Ancestor of the present Mr. Blagrave of Calcot Park.

• Richard Aid worth of Stanlake, M.P. for Reading in 1673.

Swallowfield rebuilt by Lord Clarendon 171

building (Swallowfield), dined with Mr. Oakes, and returned in the afternoon to Mr. Pocock's at Reading, where Dr. Hungerford came to supper.

Early in February Lord Clarendon writes that he left Bag- 1690 shot for Swallowfield, accompanied by Lord Worcester, Lord Aylesbury, and Mr. Keightley, * to see how the work went on.' There was probably more in this than meets the eye. These three gentlemen were notorious Jacobites, and a plot seems to have been brewing.^

On February 24 Lord Clarendon went to Reading * to be at the election of knights for the county ; ' the candidates were Lord Norreys, Sir Humphrey Forster,^ Sir Henry Winchcombe,^ Sir Robert Pye,* and Mr. Richard Neville.* All five demanded the poll. On April i Lord Clarendon went to Swallowfield on horseback and ^ found the building in good forwardness.' About this time he seems to have been seriously indisposed, but a course of * Venice treacle ' set him right. On May 30 Lord Clarendon writes in his diary : * My brother told me he had waited on the King, who told him I had been very busy in caballing against him, that he had been moved to except me out

^ Soon after this Lord Clarendon writes in his journal : ' Mr. K[eightley] and I

went to dinner to Bagshott, where we found Mr. Nof and his kinsman C , who

were going a great journey westward,' and on April 20 Lord Clarendon ^ visited his friends at Somerset House/ and for some weeks he was daily visiting the recog- nised moving spirits of the Jacobite party.

' Sir Humphrey Forster, Bart, of Aldermaston ; he died in 171 1, when the baronetcy became extinct

' Sir Henry Winchcombe, Bart., of Bucklebury, descended from ' Jack of New- bury/ the wealthy clothier. He died without male issue in 1703. His grandfather, Henry Winchcome, who died 1642, married Elizabeth, daughter of George Miller of Swallowfield.

^ Sir Robert Pye of Faringdon ; he married Anne, daughter of the celebrated John Hampden, and died in 1701. Henry James Pye, the Poet Laureate, was descended from him.

^ Richard Neville of Billingbere represented Berkshire till 17 10.

172 Swallowfield and its Owners

of the act of grace, but that he would not do it for the Queen's sake ; that I would do well to be careful, for it would be no jest- ing matter. I desired my brother, if he saw the King again, to let him know he was very confident I desired nothing but to be quiet, and would hold as obediently to the Government as any man could do/

Notwithstanding this warning and his own asseveration, it is clear that Lord Clarendon continued, if not to plot, to aid and abet the plotters. He was constantly at Somerset House, where it was known there were continual meetings,^ and Lady Dor- chester was incessantly dining with the Clarendons. Finally, on June 23, Lord Clarendon writes in his journal, * I met Mr. Terry at Charing Cross and settled all things with him, he being to go into the north to-morrow.* The next day Lord Clarendon was arrested on a charge of high treason, * for imagining the death and deposition of the King and Queen, framing and con- triving heads for a declaration to be made by the late King James to be sent into the Realm of England to seduce their Majesties' subjects from their allegiance, and to allure them to adhere to the late King, and endeavour his restitution to the Kingdom.'

In a letter which Queen Mary wrote to King William from Whitehall on June 24 (he being in Ireland), she thus alludes to the arrest of her uncle : * When they (the Privy Council) had resolved to seize on suspected persons, in naming them. Sir H. Capel would have said something for Lord Clarendon (whose first wife, you know, was Sir H. Capel's sister). Every- body stared at him, but nobody preparing to answer, I ven-

* On June 2 Lord Nottingham went thither to the Queen Dowager with a message from the King, saying it was observed there were great meetings and caballings against the Government at Somerset House, and desiring her Majesty to live at Windsor or Audley End. Finally, however, on the representations of Lord Feversham, she was allowed to remain on.

Swallowfield rebuilt by Lord Clarendon 173

tured to speak, and told Sir H. Capel that I believed every one knew, as I did, that there was too much against him (Lord Clarendon) to leave him out of the list that was making. I can't tell whether I ought to have said this, but when I knew your mind upon it, and had seen his (Lord Clarendon's) letter, I believed it as necessary that he should be clapt up as any, and therefore thought myself obliged to say so, though at the same time I must own I am sorrier than it may be well believed for him, finding the Dutch proverb true, which you know, but I should spoil in writing.' ^

The following is Lord Clarendon's account of his arrest : * About ten at night (my brother being with me) Tom Apprice brought me word that Serjeant Topham was without to speak with me. He told me likewise that he was just now told at Whitehall that several warrants were out for taking up me and several others. However, after my brother and I had a little considered together, I thought it best not to abscond, and so I bid the serjeant be brought in, who, after making me a com- pliment that he was sorry to come upon such an occasion, showed me a warrant from the Privy Council to take me into custody, and to carry me to the Tower for high treason. I asked the serjeant if I might not stay in my own house that night, my brother engaging that I would not go away. The man was very civil, but said he durst not let me stay. So, after I had acquainted my wife, I went with him to his house in Berkeley Garden, in Holborne, where I lay, it being too late to go to the Tower.' On June 25 he writes : * In the morning my brother and my son came to me to the Serjeant's. I gave them

^ Miss Strickland says : < It is to be regretted that Queen Mary did not quote her Dutch proverb, since anything in illustration of her feeling towards her mother's family would be an historical curiosity.'

174 Swallowfield and its Owners

a copy of the warrant of my commitment, that they might advise with council if it were proper for me to do anything this term. About eleven of the clock I came to the Tower. Neither Lord Lucas nor his deputy were at home, but came within an hour ; all which time I was in a chamber in the Governor's house. After my lord had passed some compliments upon me, he asked me if there were any house I had a mind to be at. I answered that I had no acquaintance in the Tower, but had once been at the chaplain's, and I should take it for a favour if I might be there ; but he said the Dean was not in town, and so he carried me to Mr. Saps (a warder), where I was to take up my quarters. Mr. Francis Morley ^ came to see me and dined with me. I had a joint of mutton from the sutler's. In the afternoon my wife. Lady Thanett, Lady Orrery, my brother and my son came to see me, but the gentleman porter (Hawley) was by all the time, which I thought a little strange, there being no mention in my warrant that I was to be a close prisoner. My brother told me he had spoken with my council and that they were to meet again this evening to take their full resolution what to do con- cerning me. He told me he had been with Lord Nottingham, but found no hopes of my liberty till the French fleet was gone off our coast. About ten at night, just as I was in bed, Mr. Dod, the gentleman gaoler, set a padlock on my chamber door, so that if I were not well my servant could not get to me. This, I confess, looked a little odd.'

The next day Lord Clarendon says : * Lord Worcester and Sir H. Capell were to see me, as likewise Sir John Brodrick and his son, and Mr. Firmin ; ^ the Lieutenant-

* Colonel Morley.

' Mr. Firmin, a great friend of John Evelyn's and very fond of gardens : a man of most unbounded charity. Sir Robert Clayton erected a monument to him in a walk which Mr. Firmin had formed at Sir Robertas seat at Marden in Surrey. His life was printed in a small volume.

Swallowfield rebuilt by Lord Clarendon 175

Governor (Colonel Farwell) was by all the while. Mr. Fraser came to see me, and having invited Major Hawley to dinner, I sent to the Lieut.-Gpvernor that Mr. Fraser might dine with me, but was refused. In the evening my Lord Lucas came to see me. I told him I was a little surprised to find myself a close prisoner when there was no such thing mentioned in my warrant of commitment ; whereupon he showed me an order of council directing that the Lord Lucas do not permit any person to visit any of the prisoners committed for high treason without leave. He further told me I must have but one servant, and him be a close prisoner with me. Mr. Dod brought me a note of the fees, which came to ^^130, the Governor ^100, Gentleman porter ^20, gentleman gaoler ^^ 10.'

That evening Lady Clarendon joined her husband in his confinement, with an order to be a close prisoner. The imprisonment seems to have been * close* in every sense of the term, for in three days we find that Lady Clarendon * went home, being indisposed for want of air, the weather being hot, and the lodgings being very close.* She returned, however, to her husband in less than a week, * to be close prisoner ' as before. One day his daughter-in-law came to the window to see him, and another day Lord Rochester, through the influence of the Queen, was allowed to be alone with Lord Clarendon, who writes in his journal, * A day of jubilee indeed ! ' Mr. Evelyn and Mr. Rustat ^ also came to see him at the window, and his son dined with him. Lloyd, Bishop of St. Asaph, and

* Mr. Tobias Rustat had been a page of the backstairs to Charles 1 1. Sir John Bramston, in his autobiography, calls him 'Toby Runstick.' John Evelyn says: * By his wonderful frugalitie he arriv'd to a greate estate in money, and did many works of charity, besides erecting at Windsor the King on horseback, cast in copper and set on a pedestal of white marble, the worke of Mr. Gibbons, which cost him ;^ 1,000.'

176 Swallowfield and its Owners

Dr. Lower also were allowed to visit Lord Clarendon, but in the presence of witnesses.

A good thing was made out of the visits to prisoners'! Mr. Longueville, Lord Clarendon's counsel, obtained an order to see him on July 19 in the presence of the warder, for which, he said, he was asked 405. 1 Lord Cornbury paid the same when he visited his father, and so did Lord Clarendon's two servants, Heyton and Apprice 1

Francis Turner, Bishop of Ely, visited Lord Clarendon three times, but was told that the Queen had expressly forbidden his access to the prisoner, and he was never again admitted. Lord Clarendon had always appeared in a conspicuous place in the Chapel of Ely House, Hatton Garden, when Turner preached after his sentence of deprivation.

On July 20 an order came to allow the prisoners to have * the liberty of the Tower,' with their warders, and accordingly Lord Clarendon walked about the Tower. At the end of this month Lady Clarendon drew out a petition to the Queen for the liberation of her husband, and presented it herself. In consequence of this Lord Clarendon was let out on bail by the Lord Chief Justice. Lord Worcester, Lord Bulkeley, Sir John Parsons, and Sir Peter Rich were his bail. The day he left the Tower he had Lord and Lady Mountrath and his son and daughter-in-law to dine with him there, and showed them the Mint. In the evening he went with Lord Lucas, his brother, and Lady Clarendon to the Lord Chief Justice Holt, where he entered into his recognizance to appear in the King's Bench the first day of the next term, and in the meantime gave his word of honour not to disturb the government. He did not get home till near nine, but he had

SwalloTvfield rebuilt by. Lord Clarendon 1 77

visits from two ladies that evening, the Duchess of Monmouth and Mrs. Phillips.^

The day after his liberation Lord Clarendon went to see Lord Ranelagh, Mr. Boyle, and the Duchess of Monmouth, and the following day he had Major Hawley, the gentleman- porter of the Tower, to dine with him, and afterwards he went to see *his friends at Somerset House,' where he found Mr. Grahame.

The published portion of Lord Clarendon's diary finishes here, so that we have to take his further movements from other sources.

^ Mrs. Phillips, author of a tragedy called Horace, Her husband, Edward Phillips, was a nephew of the poet Milton. He was preceptor to John Evelyn's son and to Lord Pembroke's, and then became Reader to Lord Clarendon.

N

1 78 Swallowfield and its Owners

CHAPTER XIX

DEATH OF LADY CLARENDON

1690 Towards the end of 1690 Lord Clarendon was seriously implicated with Turner, Bishop of Ely, Lord Preston and his brother Mr. James Graham, and William Penn, the celebrated Quaker, in a plot against King William.

On the last day of the year Lord Preston, accompanied by Mr. Edmund Elliott and Mr. John Ashton (the latter was Gentleman of the Household to the exiled Queen Mary

1691 Beatrix), started for France with letters and papers of importance- The letters were all written in parables. Lord Clarendon assumed the character of a match-maker : there were great hopes that the business which he had been negotiating would be brought to bear, and that the marriage portion would be well secured, &c.*

The bearers of these treasonable letters were apprehended soon after starting, and were committed to the Tower on January 2, 1691. Queen Mary then issued a proclamation for discovering the other conspirators. The Bishop of Ely, Graham, and Penn absconded. The latter only escaped owing to the fact that he was attending the funeral of George Fox, the founder of the Quakers, when the warrant was issued. Mr. Elliott was released, Lord Preston and Ashton condemned

Death of Lady Clarendon 179

to death, but Lord Preston was spared to give evidence,^ and his revelations implicated Lord Clarendon, who was sent to the Tower, and kept there for upwards of six months. Evelyn writes that he went to see Lord Clarendon the next day, and he also mentions dining twice with him in the Tower.

The Queen was earnestly solicited on behalf of her uncle by his brother. Lord Rochester, and by his great friend and relative. Lady Ranelagh, for some relaxation in the severity of his treatment in the Tower, his health suffering much under the depression of solitary confinement. Lord Rochester also asked Burnet to use his influence against the attainder of his brother.

In July Lord Clarendon was liberated, but was still a prisoner within the limits of his country house. Evelyn writes on the nth of this month : * I went to visit Lord Clarendon in the Tower, but he was gone into the country for air by the Queen's permission, under the care of his warder ; ' but before long the warder was removed, and Lord Clarendon was informed that while he led a quiet rural life he should not be molested.

In March 1692 Lord Clarendon brought an action for 1692 libel against Anthony ^ Wood, the author ; the libel being the statement that Lord Clarendon had * altered and caused to be altered, in "Athenae Oxonienses," many lines, sentences, and words relating to the character of Edward, Earl of Clarendon, without the knowledge or consent of Mr. Wood.*

The passages which Lord Clarendon was alleged to have altered imputed corruption to his father. The University pronounced the following sentence against Wood : that he should be banished, and deprived of all privileges belonging

* Lord Preston retired to Nunnington in Yorkshire, where he died 1695. Sir Richard Graham of Netherby is the heir male of the Viscounts of Preston.

N 2

i8o Swallowfield and its Owners

to a member of the University, until he should make a proper recantation ; that the book should be burnt ; and that he should pay the cost of the suit, which amounted to ^^34. Wood himself mentions in his memoirs : *On Monday, July 31, about 10 of the clock in the morning. Skinner, the apparitor, made a fire of two faggots in the Theatre Yard, and burnt the second volume of Athen. Oxon.' Some months later he (Anthony i Wood) writes : * Thomas Wood says the Earl of Clarendon and his party will turn my Lord's fees into a medal,^ in token of the victory, to be put into the Museum ; ' but in reality Lord Clarendon laid out the money of the fine upon the two statues of Charles L and Charles IL, * standing in the niches on each side of the rustic-work gate leading into the University Physick Garden/ *

On May 22, 1694, Pepys writes to Evelyn: *My Lord Clarendon asked me the other day with great respect after you, and your work upon ye Medailles, intimating (methought) his having something therein to pleasure you with. If you have any errand to be delivered to him, on that or any other subject, pray let me be your messenger.'

Lord Clarendon, who was always a most extravagant man, was now in great pecuniary diflSculties, and we hear of executions at Cornbury, and sales of pictures and books taking place this summer. It was probably about this time that he sold Cornbury to his brother. Lord Rochester. The purchase, however, remained a secret till Lord Clarendon's death. In his will. Lord Rochester speaks of the purchase he had lately made from his * dear brother the Earl of Clarendon, of the Manor of

^ Lord Clarendon was a great collector of medals.

* The Physick or Botanic Garden was originally the cemetery of the Jews, who were once very numerous in Oxford. In 1622 the lease of it was purchased by Henry Danvers, Earl of Danby. The gateway was designed by Inigo Jones, and executed by Nicholas Stone.

Death of Lady Clarendon i8i

Witney, as likewise of the house and park of Cornbury, &c., which,' he adds, * his circumstances indispensably obliged him to part with.'

In 1695, Sir William Trumbull of Easthampstead, con- 1695 suited Lord Clarendon as to the advisability of his standing for the representation of Reading or the county. The following is Lord Clarendon's answer :

* Cornbury, 7ber i8th, 1695.

S'. My neighbours of Reading, I mean the Major and his Brethern, are soe very sensible of their obligations to you, in the great favour you show'd them in their business this summer at the Councell board, y* to expresse their gratitude they will be ready to use their utmost interest for choosing you one of their Burgesses, if there should be a new Parliament w*^ is soe generally talked of in the Countreys that many people doe beleive it will be soe ; and I thought it fitt to give you this notice (if you please to accept of it) y* I beleive you may be chosen for that Towne without much difficulty, especially if Mr. John Blagrave will be for you, w""^ I doubte not he will be, and if I know your mind I will engage him : — I doubte not you may be chosen in many places, but perhaps you had rather be in your own countrey ; and if you please, I have some reason to believe that you may be chosen one of the K"** of the Shire for Berks ; if you will joyne with Sir Humphrey Forster, you will have all the Church interest for you, w*^ I take to be the best, and I am sure you would not divide them : I would not write soe confidently, but y* I have lately had a very good oppor- tunity of knowing the minds of some of the most considerable men, who have the best interest in Berks : I know, S', it is not for me to be inquisitive whether there will be a new Parliament or not, and lesse fitt for one in my circumstances to

1 82 Swallowfield and its Owners

concerne himselfe in Elections, nor shall I for any in England, but when I have soe fair an opportunity of shewing a respect to you, w*"** I will always endeavour, I thought it became me to offer you my service ; you may command me what you please herein, — either for the County of Berks, or Town of Reading. * I am with great esteem, S',

* Your most affectionate and most humble servant,

* Clarendon.

A Let*' directed to me to be left at the Posthouse at Woodstock will come safe to me.'

In October 1695, Anthony Wood writes : * I was with the Earl of Clarendon at Dr. Turner's ^ lodgings, and there I began to rip up all that matter, how unworthily he had dealt with me against all law. ... I told him he had gotten from me more money than I should get again in five or six years, for I earned but id. per diem. I told him I am restored from my banish- ment by virtue of the late Act of Parliament ; he said not, but I was excepted. I told him all matter of libels was excepted. He said not, but talked after a rambling way.'

This same month Lord Clarendon was visited by his daughter-in-law. A curious letter of Lady Drumlanrig (Lady Mary Boyle) says : * My Lady Hyde came up to town with very grave resolution of not seeing a play, but by the instigation of the evil one and the persuasion of some friends she has bin {sic) at three within the week and I hope to follow her example the next, for they act now in Covent Garden.' *

* Dr. Turner, brother to the Bishop of Ely, and tutor to John Evelyn's son.

' Covent Garden Theatre sprang out of one in Lincoln' s-inn-fields, through a patent granted, 14 Charles II., to Sir William Davenant, whose company was called the * Duke's servants,' as a compliment to the Duke of York, afterwards James II. Pepys says in February 1663 : 'Looked upon the outside of the new theatre building in Covent Garden, which will be very fine'

Death of Lady Clarendon 1 83

Lord and Lady Cornbury came to Swallowfield for the 1697 funeral of their second daughter, Mary, who was buried there.

On December 7, 1699, Pepys writes from London to his 1699 nephew Jackson ^ as follows : * This comes directed to Rome as the certain place that some time it will find you at, . . . There is a little matter mightily desired by Lord Clarendon, who is, you know, a great saladist ; it is (to use his own phrase) that you would dust your letters to me with Roman lettice-seed, it being what Mr. Locke ^ used to do for him.'

On July I, 1700, Lord Clarendon writes to Mr. Pepys as 1700 follows : * Sir, Yours of the 24th past was doubly welcome, in bringing me the good news of the improvement of your health, which I am as much concerned in, and wish as well to, as any friend you have. You had not been thus long without my letters, but I thought they might be troublesome, not being able to fill them with anything diverting. Now my law afiairs are a little over for the present, I intend very speedily to make you a visit. I am extremely obliged to your nephew for remembering so small an aflfair as the lettice-seeds, of which my wife is very proud. As to your enquiry concerning the second-sight, and of what happened to me in reference to my first wife upon that occasion, I will tell the story to y* self when I see you, and in the mean time to Dr. Smith,^ and if either of you think it worth notice I will put it into writing as exactly as I can.'

Pepys evidently did think the story of second sight worth notice, as we find Lord Clarendon writing the following to him in May, 1701 :

^ Paulina Pepys, Samuel's sister, married Mr. Jackson, whom the diarist describes as < a plain young man, handsome enough for her, one of no education or discourse^'

" John Locke, secretary to Council of Trade and Plantations, ^ an excellent learned gentleman and student of Christchurch ' (see Evelyn's Diary).

* Dr. Thomas Smith, a learned writer and divine, died 1710.

184 Swallowfield and its Owners

* Sir, — I cannot give you a greater instance of my willingness to gratify your curiosity in anything within my knowledge than the sending you this foolish letter. The story I told you the other day relating to what they call in Scotland the second sight is of soe old a date, and soe many of the circumstances out of my memory, that I must begin as old women doe in their tales to children, " Once upon a time." The matter was thus : — One day, I know by some remarkable circumstances it was towards the middle of February, 166 1-2, the old Earl of Newborough ^ came to dine with my father at Worcester House, and another Scotch gentleman with him, whose name I cannot call to mind. After dinner, as we were standing talking together in the room, says my Lord Newborough to the other Scotch gentleman (who was looking very stedfastly upon my wife),^ " What is the matter that thou hast had thine eyes fixed upon my Lady Cornbury ever since she came into the room ? *' ** She's a handsome lady indeed," said the gentleman, " but I see her in blood." Whereupon my Lord Newborough laughed at him, and all the company going out of the room, we parted, and I beleive none of us thought more of the matter ; I am sure I did not. My wife was at that time perfectly well in health, and looked as well as ever she did in her life. In the beginning of the next month she fell ill of the small-pox ; she was always very apprehensive of that disease, and used to say, if she ever had it, she should dye of it. Upon the ninth day after the small-pox appeared, in the morning she bled at the nose, which quickly stop't ; but in the afternoon the blood burst out again with

^ Sir James Livingstone, Bt, of Kinnaird, gentleman of the Bedchamber to King Charles I., was created Earl of Newborough in i66a He died 167a He had married Lady Catherine, widow of Lord George Stuart (son of Esme, third Duke of Lennox), and grandmother of Lord Clarendon's daughter-in-law.

' Theodosia, third daughter of Arthur, Lord Capel of Hadham.

Death of Lady Clarendon 1 85

great violence at her nose and mouth, and about eleven of the

clock that night she dyed, almost weltering in her blood. This

is the best account I can now give of this matter, which, tho'

I regarded not at the time the words were spoken, yet upon

reflexion afterwards I could not but think it odd if not

wonderfuU, that a man only looking upon a woman whom he

had never seen before should give such a prognostick. The

great grief I was then in, and going quickly after out of towne,

prevented me being so inquisitive as I should have been after

the person of this Scotch gentleman.

* Sir, your most affectionate and humble servant,

* Clarendon.'

Ten months before Lord Clarendon wrote this letter, he 1700 lost his second wife. Flower or Flora, Lady Clarendon, died on July 17, 1700, aged 59. She was buried in Swallowfield church on July 22nd, and lies in the crypt under the Russell transept. After the entry of her burial in the register there is a note to say that the fine had to be paid as the penalty for not having buried her in wooUen.^ There is no monument to Lady Clarendon, but the following inscription is over her remains in the vault : * Depositum Praenobilis Dominae Florae Comitissae de Clarendon, uxoris Henrici, Comitis de Clarendon, non ita ptidem Summi Angliae CanceUarii, quae obiit 17 Julii, an. Dom. 1700, aetatis 59.'

With Lady Clarendon's death terminated the line of the Backhouses, owners of Swallowfield, who had possessed it for 118 years.

^ An Act was passed in the reign of Charles II. that no one, under a penalty of ;^5, should be buried in any shift, shirt, or shroud made of flax, hemp, silk, or any other material but sheep's wool, and an affidavit that the burial had been carried out in conformity with the Act had to be taken to the keeper of the parish register by a representative of the deceased person.

1 86 Swallowfield and its Owners

1 701 Lord Clarendon survived his wife nine years, and almost the only information about him which we have during this time is from the letters of John Evelyn and Samuel Pepys.

December of 1701 Lord Clarendon spent at his house in St. James's Square, and Evelyn, writing from Dover Street to Pepys, says : * I have hardly seen any of our neighbours here save C. Hatton, Lord Clarendon, and Sir R. Dutton.'

1702 In August 1702 Pepys writes from Clapham to Lord Clarendon the following letter :

* My Noble Lord, — I am still forced, much against my will, to make use of my man's legs on all. errands, and particularly on this to your Lordship, to know where you are this uneasy season, and inquire after your health. My Lord, I am but this morning come from the third reading of your noble father's, my Lord Chancellor Clarendon's History, with the same appetite, I assure you, to a fourth, that ever I had to the first ; it being most plain that that great story neither had nor could ever have been told as it ought to be, but by the hand and spirit that has now done it, or, I hope, soon will ; and that your Lordship, and my honoured Lord your brother, will not suffer the press to slacken in the despatch of the remainder, and therewith in the eternizing the honour of your name and family, the delivering of your country from the other- wise endless consequences of that its depraved loyalty, which nothing but this can cure ; and your putting together such a lecture of government for an English Prince, as you may yet live to be thanked, and to thank God, for.

* Your Lordship's most obedient servant,

' S. P.'

i87

CHAPTER XX

THE LAST OF THE HYDES

On the accession of Queen Anne, on March 8, 1702, Lord 1702 Clarendon was one of the crowd of friends or relatives that attended at St. James's Palace that same Sunday morning. He asked the Lord-in-waiting for * admittance to his niece.' The Queen sent him word that *if he would go and qualify himself to enter her presence she would be very glad to see him,' meaning that if he chose to take the oath of allegiance to her as his legitimate Sovereign she was willing to admit him. * No,' he replied, * I come to talk to my niece ; I shall take no other oath than I have taken already.' The Queen refused to see him unless he did so, but he remained a non-juror to the day of his death.

His brother, Lord Rochester, was more complying, and in consequence he was made Prime Minister, and at the coronation on April 23 rd Lady Mary Hyde,^ his daughter, was, with Lady Elizabeth Seymour ^ and Lady Mary Pierpoint,^ train-bearer to the Queen,^ and the wife of his eldest son became one of the Ladies of her Bedchamber.^

* Lady Mary Hyde married Francis Seymour, Lord Conway.

* Lady Elizabeth Seymour, daughter of Charles, 6th Duke of Somerset ; she married Henry O'Brien, Earl of Thomond,

* Lady Mary Pierpoint, afterwards Lady Mary Wortley Montagu.

^ Though the Queen was barely thirty-seven years old at this time, she had, from gout and corpulence, lost the use of her feet, and was carried on this occasion in ' an open chair,' but she had a long train all the same passed over the low back. When she stood to be crowned she had to be supported.

^ Jane, daughter of Sir William Leveson Gower, and sister of John, Lord Gower.

1 88 Swallowfield and its Owners

1703 This year Lord Clarendon was one of the * supporters ' at the funeral of Samuel Pepys, which took place at Crutched Friars Church, and he received one of the mourning rings given on this occasion. We find they were supplied by Sir R, Hoare, the goldsmith, and were respectively of the value of 20J., 1 5 J., and I OS.

1704 Early in 1704 the Duchess of Marlborough, who had always hated the Hydes, and who owed a special grudge to Rochester for having in her early days said to James II. that * some domestic locust devoured the revenues of the Princess Anne,* worked on the Queen to insult Rochester so much that he resigned all his offices of State.^

Lord Clarendon seems to have had nothing but misfortunes towards the close of his life ; he lost his old and valued friend

1706 John Evelyn in February, 1706, and in August of the same year his daughter-in-law Katherine, Lady Cornbury, died at New York.^

1707 Lord Clarendon's affairs became greatly embarrassed, and two years before his death he had to sell his place. Clarendon Park, which was already mortgaged. Curiously enough, Governor Pitt, who a few years later bought Swallowfield from Lord Clarendon's son, now had an idea of buying Clarendon, His son, Robert Pitt, whom he commissioned to buy estates for him in several counties, recommended Clarendon Park and the Manor of Christchurch as * the most desirable property now for sale,' and writes to his father, * Diamond ' Pitt, who was

^ After the downfell of the Duchess of Marlborough, Lord Rochester was appointed President of Queen Anne's Council, and he appears to have become so with an idea of helping to restore his King's son to the throne, but an apoplectic fit snatched him away in 171 1 before any step could be taken. < Rochester dead ! ' exclaimed Louis XIV. ' Then there is not a man of probity and counsel equal to him left in the world * (Mesnoyer).

* Lord Cornbury was then Governor of New York.

The Last of the Hydes 1 89

still in India, as follows : *The income from both is about ^1,750, and they may be purchased for ^34,000. The property is mortgaged to the estimated value for three years to Lady Bathurst, and will be sold unless redeemed by Lord Clarendon, and whoever gives him £1,000 more may have it. The proprietor controls the elections for the borough of Christ- church.' Thomas Pitt did not, however, buy Clarendon, and Peter Bathurst, brother of the first Earl Bathurst, became its possessor. It belonged, until lately, to his descendant. Sir Frederick Harvey Bathurst, Bart. But of all Lord Clarendon's troubles those caused by the conduct of his only son must assuredly have been the keenest. He lived to see Lord Cornbury disgrace himself in America, and be removed from his official position in that country, and finally imprisoned for debt.

Lord Clarendon died on October 31, 1709, aged 70, and 1709 was buried in Westminster Abbey on November 4, the supporters at his funeral being the Dukes of Ormond and Grafton, the Earls of Essex and Berkshire, Lords Delawarr and Berkeley.

Burnet, who disliked Lord Clarendon, thus draws his character : * He is a man naturally sincere, a friendly and good-natured man. He keeps an exact journal of all that passes, and is punctual to tediousness in all that he relates. He was very early engaged in great secrets, for his father, apprehending of what fatal consequence it would have been to the King's afiairs if his correspondence had been discovered by unfaithful secretaries, engaged him when very young to write all his letters to England in cipher ; so that he was generally half the day writing in cipher or deciphering, and was so discreet, as well as faithful, that nothing was ever discovered by him.

190 Swallowfield and its Owners

He continued to be still the person whom his father trusted most, and was the most beloved of all the family, for he was humble and obliging, though sometimes peevish and splenetic. His judgment was not much to be depended on, for he was much carried by vulgar prejudice or false notions.'

Lord Clarendon held many official posts ; besides his Court appointments he was High Steward of Reading in 1 674, High Steward of Salisbury in 1685, and High Steward of the University of Oxford in 1686 ; Hereditary Ranger of Wichwood Forest, Keeper of the Lodge and Woods and Steward and Bailiff of Clewer, Keeper of Denmark {alias Somerset) House, and a joint searcher of the Customs at Greenwich. In 1684 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, in which he always took the greatest interest, and he had considerable scientific knowledge. He had also antiquarian tastes, and was the author of the * History and Antiquities of the Cathedral Church at Winchester,' and he was also a numismatist and made a very fine collection of medals. Notwithstanding his many sinecures and the fortune he had with his wife, his extravagant tastes and the many demands made upon him by his son involved him in difficulties, and he died insolvent, leaving no personal estate of his own.

He was succeeded in his titles by his only son, Edward, Lord Cornbury, who, as third Earl of Clarendon, became owner of Swallowfield at the age of 48. Macaulay, in his well-known description of Lord Cornbury's desertion of King James, describes him as *a young man of slender abilities, loose principles, and violent temper,' and attributes his treachery to the influence of Churchill. Lady Theresa Lister writes : * Edward Hyde, third Earl of Clarendon, presents one of those melancholy instances which too often occur amongst the

The Last of the Hydes 191

descendants of distinguished men, where the name, the honours, the titles are reproduced, but unsupported and ungraced by any one of those qualities or virtues which won distinction for their ancestor. His conduct through life was a blot upon his name, and brought down upon him the scorn and reproach of two hemispheres/ As a return for his desertion of King James, William III. appointed him Governor of New York, and Queen Anne continued him there, and also made him Governor of New Jersey (i 701-8), but in 1 708, in consequence of his outrageous conduct, he was recalled. His conduct seemed rather that of a madman than of a responsible being. He received the official world at Albany on the Queen's birthday dressed in female attire, copied from the robes of his Royal mistress, and in this costume he was painted, the portrait being, in 1876, in the possession of Lord Hampton of Westwood, CO. Worcester, who had it photographed for the Philadelphia Exhibition.^ No sooner was Lord Cornbury recalled from New York than he was thrown into prison by his creditors, and there remained till the death of his father entitled him to be liberated as a peer.

Katherine, Lady Cornbury, predeceased her husband ; she died at New York in 1706, and was buried there at Trinity Church. The sermon preached by Chaplain Sharp on her death is now a very rare pamphlet ; there are two copies in the British Museum. When Trinity Church was rebuilt in 1839, it having been destroyed by fire for the second time, on excavating the foundations a massive silver coffin-plate was disinterred, with some fragments of bone, &c. On the plate was the following inscription :

* This was no boyish freak, as Lord Cornbury was forty-seven years of age. In all probability he was out of his mind.

192 Swallowfield and its Owners

* Catherine, Lady Viscountess Cornbury, Baroness of Clifton of Bromswold, in the co. of Warwick, sole remaining daughter ^ and heir to the most noble Charles, Duke of Richmond and Lennox, born the 29th day of January, 1673, departed this life at the City of New York, in America, August ii, 1706, in the 34th year of her age.'

This plate and the bones were reinterred in a vavdt made for the purpose.

Notwithstanding his delinquencies, Edward, third Earl of 17" Clarendon, was made a Privy Councillor in 171 1, and Envoy

Extraordinary to Hanover in 17 14. 1 7 19 In 17 19 he sold Swallowfield to Thomas Pitt, commonly called 'Diamond' Pitt, and died on March 31, 1723, at his house at Little Chelsea. He was buried at Westminster Abbey. Edward, Lord Clarendon, had five children, of whom only one survived him. Three daughters died unmarried : i, Catharine ; 2. Mary, buried at Swallowfield in 1697 ; 3. Flora, buried at Fulham in 1700; one daughter, Theodosia, married in 171 3 John Bligh, son of Thomas Bligh, of Rathmore, co. Meath, and Queen Anne gave her ^10,000 on her marriage.^

Edward, his only son, predeceased him, and we hear nothing of him till his death, which took place in February, 17 13. Hearne writes : * Last Thursday, being the 1 2th of this inst., dyed the Viscount Cornbury of a high feaver. He was just come to age, and inflamed his spirits by hard drinking, particularly by taking hot spirits in a morning. He was lately of Christchurch. I was particularly acquainted with him. He was a very pretty gentleman, of a tall but thin stature, very

^ She was niece to the Duke, not daughter.

« Lord Berkeley of Stratton, writing to Lord Strafford on September 8th, I7i3> says, < Lady Theodosia Hyde is married to an Irish Mr. Blythe, of a good estate, who will soon have enough of her if I can give any guess.'

^

ARENDON, AND SOMI

iChim.

i

^tthew

ibert Hyde = Anne, d. of

— CastilioD.

Jo.

ron, who was beheaded lower, Lady Backhouse, :nd widow of her cousin,

TOO.

cr. Earl of ) Master of Lord-Lieut in Westmil

Rochester, sue- is cousin in 1723 irl of Clarendon ;

Henry Hyde, = Jane, d. of Sir Will.

d Earl of

(indson of apel, who 1648.

Leveson-Gower, Bart. , and sister to the 1st Marquis of Stafford, K.(i.

T

Maria Conway = Nich

lliers, 2nd son Carl of Jersey, Clarendon in ■*6.

les Villiers, 7, ^. 1838.

Maria, d. of the George Vill Hon. J. Forbes. d. 1769.

I

Charles Villiers, M.P., d. 1802.

4th E

The Last of the Hydes 193

good-natured, loyal and well principled in other respects, and might have proved a very useful man/

Lady StrafFord thus alludes to his death in a letter to her husband : * Dearest Life, This letter will be a very dismall won to Captain Powell, since it brings the news of poor Lord Cornbury's death ; he dyed yesterday morning of a feavour got by a surfeit of drinking, for he and a good many more drank as many quarts of usquebath {sic) as is usall to be drank of wine, and was never cool after. Lady Theodosia will be now a great fortune, for Cobham is settled on her, and she is now Baroness of Clifton (of Leighton Bromswold).'

Lady Theodosia's husband, John Bligh, was created in 1721 Baron Clifton of Rathmore, and Earl of Darnley in 1725 ; thus their son Edward, second Earl of Darnley, was Baron Clifton of Rathmore and Baron Clifton of Leighton Bromswold. His nephew John, fourth Earl of Darnley, in 1829 claimed the dukedom of Lennox as * heir of line ' of Charles Stewart, sixth Duke of Lennox and Duke of Richmond, K.G. The petition was referred to the House of Lords, but no decision was arrived at.

Edward, third Earl of Clarendon, was succeeded by his first cousin, Henry Hyde, second Earl of Rochester. He died in December 1753, when, his son (Henry Hyde, Lord Cornbury) having predeceased him,^ • all his titles became extinct, but Thomas Villiers, second son of the second Earl of Jersey, who married Lord Rochester's granddaughter. Lady Charlotte Capel, was created Earl of Clarendon, and the present Earl of Clarendon is his great-grandson.

The arms ^ and cipher of the Clarendons are still on the

* Henry Hyde, Viscount Combury, died at Paris before his father, but in the same year, 1753. One of his sisters was the celebrated Kitty, Duchess of Queensberry.

' Azure, a chevron between three lozenges, or, were the arms of Hyde, Earl of Clarendon.

o

194 Swallowfield and its Owners

alcove ceiling of the oval vestibule adjoining the present entrance- hall at Swallowfield, and there is also an old iron fire-back in the library with the Clarendon arms and motto. The last of Lord Clarendon's family, it is said, was John Hyde Badger,^ a gentleman farmer who lived in a moated house at Shinfield, where he had many relics of the family. His hall was hung with every species of armour, remains of the Civil War, and he had a curious pair of gloves worn by Lord Chancellor Clarendon when he went to Court, and several articles that had belonged to Queen Anne. He died in 1790, and was buried in the family vault at Shinfield. His house formed part of the manor mentioned by Lysons as having been granted to the Hydes temp. James I., and afterwards the property of Mr. Cobham. A portion of the southern extremity of Shinfield is still called ' Hyde End.'

^ Lord Clarendon (the 2nd) had a great-uncle Nicholas Hyde, Chief Justice, who died in 163 1. He married Margaret, daughter of Arthur Swayne of Sarson, and one of their descendants settled at Hyde End in Berks. See Sir R. C. Hoare's Wilts. In the Shinfield Parish Register of 172 1 there is an entry of the marriage of Augustine Badger to Hannah Chambers Hide, daughter of Chambers Hyde. These were, no doubt, the parents of John Hyde Badger.

^ ' r

i

Edward Pitt, » Mary, d. o

Bristol and Wester- John Go

leigh, Somerset the dired

SirWi ^rs of the Exchequer. Of Hartlei le Yard, Westminster. During H tants. He bought Strathfield^ye i}. in 1559, d, 1636, at, 77.

I 1627

Edward Pitt, « Rachel, d. of Sir . of Strathfieldsaye. Lived at Hcckfield ! Si. Andrew, Dot

Maria Pitt = Alex. Chape.

during his father's life ; d. 1643.

Hopton). She 1-

I, <^ in

I 1657 George Pitt, = Jane Savage, d. of Strathfieldsaye, ' of Earl Rivers b. 1625, d. 1694, and widow of (ct. 69. George Brydges

Lord Chandos Shee^ 1676.

Christoph

ho:

:tt,

Gc

CO I

It :

(ieorge Pitt, f>. 1662, d, 1734.

1st, Lucy, d. of Thomas Pile, E Beaverstock, Wihs ; 2ndly, d. of Audley Grey, of Kings!

tni i6. iLw

George Pitt, = Louise, d. of

of Strathfield- saye, d. 1745.

John Bernier.

of Kncombe and of Sunning- hill, M.P. d. 1787.

John Pitt, = Maria Morgan,

d. of Marcus Morgan.

i^ho became

; d, 1S09,

lime extinct.

Harriot Pitt =1

Pi mc

17

George Pitt, = Penelope, d. of Sir

1st Lord Rivers, b. iy2lyd. 1803.

Henry Atkins, Bt. SheflT. 1795.

(ieorge Pitt,

2nd Lord Rivers, b. 1751,

d. 1828 ttttm. I Ic sold Strathfieldsaye.

Sir William Aug. Pitt, K.B., = Mary, d. of General, of Heckheld ; Viscount Ho

d. 1809. d. s.p.

I

Louisa Pitt = Peter Beckford, ot |

I Stapleton, Dorset.

ChrUtianKtt = aV*

Marcia Pitt, = James Lane-Fox. d. 1822.

William (Beckford) Pitt Riverj 3rd Lord Rivers, d. 1 831. ;

I

-i

William Aug. Lane- Fox, = Lady Caroline Douglas. d. 1832.

Aug. Henry Lane-Fox Pitt- Rivers =

V

George, 4th Lord Rivers, ^1 of Normanton. b, 1810, d, 1866.

I

Henry, Uh Lord Rivers, b. 1849, d, 1867.

lOCh ]

195

CHAPTER XXI

GOVERNOR PITT'S CAREER

m

10

tt,

:oj t

mi

6.

h

"Pi nt 17

Thomas Pitt, who bought Swallowfield in 17191 was the second son of the Rev. John Pitt, rector of Blandford St. Mary, Dorset, by his wife Sarah, daughter of John Jay, grandson of Thomas Pitt of Blandford,* and great-grandson of John Pitt,^ Clerk of the Exchequer to Queen Elizabeth.

He was born at Blandford on July 5, 1653, and his father died in 1672. Being one of nine children, Thomas Pitt had to seek his own fortunes and probably went to sea at a very early age.

In 1 674, when he was twenty-one years of age, he arrived in India as an * Interloper,' this being the name given to merchants who defied the trading monopoly of the East India Company. Much information respecting him is to be gleaned from the

* Diary of Sir William Hedges ' ^ which has been so ably edited and annotated by Col. Yule, C.B. ^ We find,' says Col. Yule,

* repeated reference therein to Captain Pitt, a prominent and notorious Interloper, who pressed his commercial adventures in

* Thomas Pitt of Blandford died 1643 ; he married Priscilla, daughter of — Searle of Hayle. In the account book of the churchwardens of Langton, Long Blandford, there is an entry as follows : ' Payde unto Mr. Thomas Pitt for iron, xxviiLr. xdJ

^ John Pitt, Clerk of the Exchequer, married Joan, daughter of John Swayne of Blandford. He was son of William Pitt, and grandson of Nicholas Pitt of Bland- ford and Wimboume, living 1545.

' Sir William Hedges, Chief of the East India Company's factories in Bengal from 1 68 1 to 1685.

O 2

1719 Thos. Pitt (* Dia- mond* Pitt)

O O

Shield on Diamond Pitt's seal

196 Swallmvjield and its Owners

defiance of the Company's claims to exclusive trade, and was only too successful in seducing from their fidelity, and involving in his own quasi-contraband business, a number of the Com- pany's servants. To the repeated orders from the Court at Dacca, Thomas Pitt appears to have paid not the slightest attention, merely diversifying his operations occasionally by a trip to Persia. In 1682 the Court wrote to the authorities at Fort St. George to * have a corporall and twenty soldiers sent down to agent Hedges to prevent Interlopers and any insolent attempt of Pitt,' who is described in the letter as * a fellow of a haughty, huffying, dazing temper.' In 1683, when Pitt was on one of his homeward-bound voyages, proceedings were taken against him, and he was cited before the Court of King's Bench. He and his cousin Vincent and another * Interloper ' Dorrell, who was much associated with him in mercantile adventures, were kept in custody for some time, and then let out on bail, giving ;^40,ooo each security. Pitt was fined £ i ,000, but the fine was reduced to ;^400. And in November of the same year, 1688, extraordinary as it appears, he was admitted into the freedom of the East India Company gratis.

Thomas Pitt now seems to have made up his mind to settle in England, for we hear of no more voyages to India for ten years. In 1689 he bought the manor of Stratford-under- the-Castle, i.e. * Old Sarum,' Wilts, from James, third Earl of Salisbury, and he was elected with John Young for that seat in the Convention Parliament, though their election was declared void. But that same year Pitt was returned for New Sarum or Salisbury, and continued to represent it till 1695, when he was re-elected. In 1689 he took up his abode at the Manor House, Mawardens Court, Salisbury and the south portion of this house was apparently built by him. It bears the following inscription

Governor Pitfs Career 197

on the porch : * Parva sed apta Domino.* Part of the house has been pulled down and the remaining portion forms the Stratford Vicarage.

In 1693 Thomas Pitt re-appeared in the Ganges as an Interloper, and soon after we find Sir John Goldsborough, the Company's Commissary-General, writing to the Nabob of Bengal, begging of him to issue a command to prevent Pitt trading in the King's ports. Sir John also writes a remonstrance to Pitt himself, saying that unless he can give satisfactory proof that he has any power from the King and Queen or the East India Company he shall take it for granted that he has either come * a piroting or at the best a interloping,' and shall deal with him accordingly. Pitt seems to have paid no attention to these injunctions, and the Directors appear now to have seen that their best chance for self-protection was to get Pitt to join them. He terminated his career as an Interloper when he left Bengal for England about the beginning of 1695, but maintained his character for bounce and haughtiness to the end. Two years later, in November 1697, Thomas Pitt, the late Interloper, was elected President or Governor of Fort St. George, a post he held for thirteen years. His salary was ;^2oo per annum and ^100 a year gratuity, as well as ^100 for fresh provisions for the voyage ; the term of his service to be five years. Pitt landed at Madras with his son Robert on July 6, 1698, and from this time to his death he was generally called Governor Pitt. Colonel Yule says : * That Pitt's reputation was great during his rule at Madras, and that it had spread not only over the coasts of India, but to England, may be gathered from the words of Sir Nicholas Waite,^ who speaks of him as " the great President," and from those of Peter Went- worth, " the great Pitt is turn out." It was his general force of

* Sir Nicholas Waitc was President at Surat.

198 Swalloivjield and its Owners

character, his fidelity to the cause of his employers (in spite of his master-feult of keenness in money-making), his decision in dealing with difficulties, that won his reputation. He was always ready ; always, till that last burst which brought his recall, cool in action, however bitter in language ; he always saw what to do and did it. He maintained the cause of his masters, the old Company, unflinchingly and triumphantly, when every wind seemed to be against them ; he was indefatigable and successful in recovering their debts and winding up their aflluirs. The new Company, once his enemies, gladly put the winding up of their affairs also into his hand ; whilst the united Company, largely composed of those he had defied, maintained him as their President/

Colonel Yule also says * the most prominent circumstance in his government, apart from the internal history of the Companies, was the blockade of Madras by the Nawab of the Carnatic, met by the President with great tact and firmness/ Another writer, in giving an account of this blockade, says : ^ The reader will perceive that the germ of that lofty pride, untiring energy, and stern consciousness of power formed the characteristics of England's greatest war ministers, and are discernible in the proceedings of their more humble progenitor who from the little Fort of St. George defied the threat of the grasping Nabob and proved more than a match for the low cunning and courtly dissimulation of the Oriental/

At the end of thirteen years, Thomas Pitt was recalled from his governorship of Fort St. George, and was succeeded by Gulston Addison, brother of the poet, who was recommended by the Court * to follow in the same steps as President Pitt/ Thomas Pitt's son Robert, who had returned to England seven years earlier, writes to him on this occasion as follows : * The

Governor Pitfs Career 199

behaviour of the Company towards you has been as surprising to every one here as it will be to you. . • . On the other hand, your return home is necessary for your own comfort and the peace of your family. Mr. Dolben will inform you of some overtures from the Grand Duke of Tuscany as to your grand concern, but as peace is in all probability imminent, I hope an able chapman will soon be found.'

* The grand concern ' here alluded to is the celebrated

* Pitt Diamond,' for the history of which we must go back some years. Thomas Pitt realised a large fortune by mercantile trans- actions in India, China, and Japan, and diamonds were among his chief investments.^ In 1701 his banker and agent. Sir Stephen Evance, suggested to him to try to find some particularly large stone, and in November of that year Pitt first saw the famous diamond which has ever since been associated with his name. It weighed in the rough 410, or some say 426 carats, and was probably the largest known diamond in the world. Pitt wrote to Sir Stephen, sending him a model of it. Sir Stephen answers : * Certainly there was never such a stone heard of before,' but goes on to say,

* Wee are now gott in a warr, the French king his hands and heart full, soe he can't buy such a stone. There is no Prince in Europe can buy itt, soe would advise you not to meddle in itt.' Pitt, however, was not to be discouraged by this advice, and commenced negotiations on his own responsibility. The price asked was 200,000 pagodas (a pagoda equal to about ten shillings), but after several months' bargaining, Pitt bought it from Jamchund (or Jaurchund), the largest diamond merchant

* Colonel Yule says : * There are in the British Museum transcripts of invoices of merchandise shipped from Madras by Thomas Pitt during his Governorship there ; these invoices consist of diamonds and a few other stones, piece-goods, opium, brass and tutenague, cotton, chank shells, &c'

200 Swallmvjield and its Owners

in the East, for 48,000 pagodas, about equivalent to ^24,000* Pitt sent it to England in October 1702, in charge of his son Robert, and many and stringent were his directions to ensure its safety.

In a memorandum which he gave his son before starting, he says : ^ If you should have the misfortune, which God forbid, to be taken by an enemy, you must be sure to throw overboard every paper you have, and secure itt (the diamond) in the best manner you can.' On his arrival, Robert Pitt was to deliver it to Sir Stephen Evance, and was not to stir out of the ship till he or Mr. Alvarez came on board. In December 1703 Robert Pitt writes from London to his father as follows : * I can now give you full tidings of the safety of your great concern here in England. ... I hope that something will be done in your grand afiair by next spring, and that I shall be able to have a crystal model made of it in its true polite shape, by shewing which as representing a thing that might possibly be found, and by consulting Amsterdam Jews, some insight may be obtained as to its real value. The King of Prussia, if able, is the likeliest chapman at present ; though, were peace made, the King of France would certainly be the man. Mr. Cope has the cutting of it. Our present design is a single stone, and we hope to make it a brilliant. It proves the first water, but will be diminished almost one half in cutting. We have so managed it that what is cut off is in great pieces, and will sell for a good sum of money. Mr. Cope says that when finished it will weigh about 1 80 carats, and will be the wonder of the world. We found means to enter it safely through the Customs, and go on briskly perfecting it for sale. When you write, it were better, for fear of the miscarriage of a letter, to say little about it, and what you do say I have a key to ; by which means none but ourselves will understand it.

Governor Pitfs Career 201

On coming near England I thought it not safe to keep it as you delivered it to me, and for better security let Captain Boulton into the secret. We secured it, I think, so effectually, that, had he been taken, we had preserved it. I presented him with a large silver punch bowl to the value of thirty odd pounds, on your account, which, for his fidelity ever since in the matter, he deserved.*

Governor Pitt wrote several letters about the cutting of the diamond ; he wished that * the magnitude of the stone had been preserved, though there had been some speck or flaw,' but his son answered that Mr. Cope found that * the flaws in the outside went so deep,' that it was necessary to saw off pieces which reduced it to 136^ carats, and it was the opinion of Mr. Alvarez and all that it was better to make it a pure stone of a less weight than to keep it greater and have it foul, for the reason that its being at once the largest stone in the world, and without flaw, makes it more valuable.' And his son goes on to say : ^ I cannot imagine that you were in any way cheated, for there was never a piece sawed off that I did not myself put on the place whence it was taken and see if it exactly fitted. Mr. Alvarez was the chief manager in the sale of the pieces, and he protested that he would not have given so much for them.* It has been finished ever since March last, and locked up in an iron chest which stands in Sir Stephen's back shop ; ^ he keeps the key of the padlock, and I keep two large keys which unlock the chest. I have been asked about it by a hundred people, and all the answer I ever made was that I wished it were true.'

* The clearage and dust were valued at from £7poo to ;^8,ooo, but the cutting and polishing cost ;£5oo. The cutting, treated by the slow hand-process of the eighteenth century, occupied two years.

* In Lombard Street.

202 Swallowjield and its Owners

In 1 708 Thomas Pitt had fresh alarms, and thinks the safest place for the chest containing his ^ grand afiair ' is the Bank ot England, but ultimately it was placed in the keeping of his kins- man George Pitt of Strathfieldsaye. ^

^ George Pitt of Strathfieldsaye, M.P., was son of Thomas Pitt's second cousin, George Pitt, by Jane, Lady Chandos, daughter of Lord Rivers. He married, first Lucy, daughter of Thomas Pile of Baverstock, and secondly Lora, daughter of Audley Grey of Kingston.

1. Tht Rough Slot.*, from ni»dtl «rii hQ

- Pf the Ct-ndl -/ Ihi Hakhyl SKitty. Piit to Sir Stephen Evance.

203

CHAPTER XXII

THE PITT DIAMOND

At the end of the year 1709 Thomas Pitt left Madras, delivering up his government, according to his own account, * in the most flourishing state that ever any place of the world was in, vastly rich, and famous for honourable and just dealings.' On his return journey he stopped at Bergen, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam, and wrote to his son to send him a model of the stone to Copenhagen, and says : * As I may sell something con- siderable abroad, enquire what goods from Denmark, Hamburg, or Holland turn to good account in England, or how returns may be made to the best advantage, and whether money is to be got by buying silver in Holland, and whether better in dollars or ingots.' He also told his son to send him a letter of credit for ;^i,ooo, to the care of our Envoy at Copenhagen and the same at Amsterdam. It was from Bergen that Pitt wrote the true history of his purchase of the great diamond. He was induced to do this on account of the various scandalous stories that were spread concerning the means by which he became possessed of it. One of the stories was that the diamond formed one of the eyes of the god Jagrenat,^ and that Pitt stole it from Chandernagor. Another story was that it was found at Parteal or Parkal, forty- five leagues south of Golconda, by a slave who concealed it in a

* Jagrenat was a famous idol at a pagoda at Chandernagor.

204 Swallowfield and its Owners

gash which he had made in the calf of his leg, until he had an op- portunity of escaping to Madras. There the poor wretch was said to have fallen in with an English skipper, who by his promises lured him on board, murdered him, then sold the diamond to Jamchund for ;^i,ooo, and, after running through the money, hanged himself. Pope alluded to these reports when he wrote the following lines : —

^ Asleep and naked as an Indian lay, An honest factor stole a gem away ; He pledged it to the Knight, the Knight had wit, So kept the diamond, and the rogue was bit* '

(* Sir Balaam.' — Moral Essays.)

Streeter, in his history of the great diamonds of the world, says : * There is no reason to doubt the substantial accuracy of this characteristic beginning of the adventures of the great diamond with this exception : the sea captain sold it in all probability for ;^i,ooo, not to Mr. Pitt, but to Jamchund, who, it will be seen in the course of our history, sold it to Mr. Pitt.' Pitt's own ex- planation which he sent to the * European Magazine ' for October, 1 7 1 o, and which was republished in the ^ Daily Post ' of November 3, 1743, seventeen years after his death, is as follows :

* Since my coming into this melancholy place of Bergen, I have been often thinking of the most unparalleled villainy of William Fraser, ^ Thomas Frederick, and Surapa,^ a black merchant, who brought a paper before Governor Addison in council, insinuating that I had unfairly got possession of a large diamond, which tended so much to the prejudice of my reputation, and the ruin of my

^ In the Chauncy MS., in the poet's own handwriting, this last line runs :

* So robbed the robber, and was rich as P .'

' William Fraser had been dismissed from the Council by T. Pitt and put in arrest in 1701. He was one of Pitt's colleagues in the Council of Fort St. George. ' Surapa was a well-known merchant, and an ally of Fraser's.

The Pitt Diamond 205

estate, that I thought necessary to keep by me the true relation how I purchased it in all respects, that so, in case of sudden mortality, my children and friends may be apprised of the whole matter, and so enabled thereby to put to silence and confound those and all other villains in their base attempts against either. About two or three years after my arrival at Madras, which was in July, 1698, I heard there were large diamonds in the country to be sold, which I encouraged to be brought down, promising to be their chapman, if they would be reasonable therein, upon which Jamchund, one of the most eminent diamond merchants in these parts, came down about December 1701, and brought with him a large rough stone, 305 mangelins, and some small ones, which myself and others bought. But he asking a very extravagant price for the great one, I did not think of meddling with it, when he left it with me for some days, and then came and took it away again, and did so several times, insisting upon not less than 2c>o,ocxD pagodas (;^ 8 5,000), and as I best remember, I did not bid him more than 30,000, and had little thought of buying it for that. I considered there were many and great risks to be run, not only in cutting it, but whether it would prove foul or clean, or the water good. Besides, I thought it too great an amount to venture home in one bottom, so that Jamchund resolved to re- turn speedily to his own country, so that I best remember it was in February following he came again to me (with Vincatee Chittee,^ who was always with him when I discussed about it) and pressed me to know whether I resolved to buy it, when he came down to 100,000 pagodas and something under before we parted, when we agreed upon a day to meet and make a final end thereof one way or another. When we accordingly met in the consultation room, where after a great deal of talk I brought him down to

^ Vincatee Chittee, a native merchant.

2o6 Sivallowfield and its Owners

55,000 pagodas, and advanced to 65,000, resolving to give no more, and he likewise resolving not to abate, I delivered him up the stone, and we took a friendly leave of one another. Mr. Benyon ^ was then writing in my closet, with whom I discoursed on what had passed and told him now I was clear of it ; when about an hour after my servant brought me word that Jamchund and Vincatee Chittee were at the door, who being called in, offered it for 50,000. I offered to part the 5,000 pagodas that was between us, which he would not hearken to, and was going out of the room again, when he turned back, and told me I should have it for 49,000. Presently he came to 48,000 and made a solemn vow he would not part with it a pagoda under, when I went again into the closet to Mr. Benyon and told him what had passed ; so I closed with him for that sum, when he delivered me the stone, for which I paid very honourably, as by my books appears, and thereby further call God to witness that I never used the least threatening word at any of our meetings to induce him to sell it to me. ... As this is the truth, so I hope for God's blessing upon this and all my other aHairs in this world, and eternal happiness hereafter.

^Written and signed by me, in Bergen, July 19, 17 10.

^ Thomas Pitt.'

From Bergen Pitt also wrote to his son Robert saying : * If there be any vacancy for a Parliament man, get me chosen if you can do so honourably ; but let my intimating it be a secret. Have your eye on some good and reputable lodgings for me in the city, and provide me with two footmen and a valet, trusty and such as have lived in good families, brisk and cleanly fellows,

a

^ Daniel Benyon, father of Richard Benyon, Governor of Fort St George, and great-grandfather of the late Richard Benyon of Englefield, Berks.

The Pitt Diamond 207

and give them my livery in plain and good cloth. Pray get me a neate campagne perwigg,^ not too bushy nor too long.* In October, 17 14, Thomas Pitt writes from Pall Mall to his son Robert : * I was this day above an hour with the King and Prince ; certainly their aspect promises prosperity to England. I showed them the great diamond, which they admired and seemed desirous of it, but I believe and hope the nation will give it.'

In 17 15 there are several letters to the same son expressing his anti- Jacobite sentiments in the most forcible language, and denouncing his son for his Jacobite proclivities. One written in September 1 7 1 5 says : * I reached home (Pall Mall) last night after a pleasant journey from Vale Rojral.* On my way, at Coventry, news met me of the arrest of six members of the House of Commons, among the latter being your bosom friend the Esquire of Combe (Mr. Harvey), who yesterday morning stabbed himself in three places to hear that letters from his friends have been found among his papers, and hope there are none that can compromise you. I have heard that you are strooke in with your old hellish acquaintance, and in all your discourse are speaking in favour of that villainous traitor Ormond. The design of these packs of villains that are now taken up was noe less than to cutt off the whole Royal Family, and sett the cursed Pretender on the throne, in which miserable tragedy I should have had my share. God still avert it ! ' And two days later he writes : * Since last post I have had it reiterated to me that in all company you are vindicating Ormond and Bull(ingbroke), the two vilest rebels that ever

^ The campaign periwig was imported from France. It was made very full, was curled, and eighteen inches in length in the front with drop locks.

' Vale Royal, Cheshire, belonging to Mr. Charles Cholmondeley, who married Essex, daughter of Governor Pitt, and was grandfather of the first Lord Delamere.

2o8 Swallowfield and its Owners

were in any nation, and you still adhere to your cursed Tory principles &c.'

In 1 7 14 Thomas Pitt and his son were returned for Old Sarum, and again in 1 715. In this year Pitt was named one of the Commissioners for building fifty new churches. Amongst those he built was St. Mary's at Abbotts Ann,^ near Andover, where he had just bought an estate.^ It is a sad specimen of the debased taste of the day. In it there is a window to his memory.

In October 17 15 Thomas Pitt writes to tell his son that a ship from St. George has brought him the news that * poor Benyon and Mr. Fleetwood ^ are dead,' and adds : * In the former I have had a great loss, which delays my leaving town till Monday.'

In 1 7 1 6 he was appointed Governor of Jamaica, and wrote to his son Robert : * With what you have wasted of my estate that I consigned to you, what settled and what I permit you to possess, what bestowed on your brothers and sisters amounts to upwards of ^^ 90,000. I have been at great expenses at home, the great diamond unsold, so in my 64th year of my age I am travelling to retrieve this, and seek my quiet, and endeavour to forgett it if I can.' Governor Pitt, however, never took up this appointment. Probably the sale of his great diamond made him alter his mind. After having had it in his possession fifteen years, he sold it early in 17 17 to the Regent Philippe,

* The present Rector of Abbotts Ann, the Rev. T. Burrows Fenwick, is de- scended from a cousin of Governor Pitt's.

^ The estate bought by Thomas Pitt, about three miles from Andover, is Red Rice, which now belongs to Mr. Best. The avenues are planted in the position of the English troops at the battle of Malplaquet.

' Mr. Fleetwood, Governor of Fort St George. His daughter, Elizabeth, married in 1726 Richard Shelley, son of Sir John Shelley, and was great-great-grand- mother of the present owner of Swallowfield. There is a picture at Swallowfield by Hogarth containing portraits of Governor Benyon and the Shelleys.

%li

CO

flC Ui

^i	I h
«. <	oc
feo	o	z
-I	I	o >
r\	$	z
z SE < Ui	09 UI	UI a		1
z	_4	•
> t-	flC	OC		§)
SHELLE ELLEY.	< X	Z		:S
o flC	2 < Ij
t JOHN ARD SHI	o UI £ OC	-1 i N 1-	o OC < UI flD	f
E I	<		09	«0
CO O	z	z	flC	■*»
u S		<	Z	0
u.	o	"3		V
UJ % u. Z	z Ui O		o z <	■t
	z o		1
> «	ff	z		c
u 2 _i	<	Ui		i
J ^•	z	z		■s
Ui UI	H	h
I J	flC			't*
oo ^ <	< 2	Z <		1
2^	O Z	<		i
-1 UJ	<	o
z
U.	>
O u.	z
O	z
CO	<
K Ui	u.
< 2£
Oi ?
1- c>
(T
o
a

The Pitt Diamond 209

Due d'Orlians, for the French Crown, during the minority of Louis XV. A model of the diamond had been sent to Paris to the celebrated John Law, who took it to the Regent and to the Due de St. Simon. Both Law and St. Simon agreed that France should become the possessor of the diamond, which was up to that time decidedly the finest gem ever seen in Europe, it being described as * of the size of a plum, perfectly white, without spot and of an admirable water.' The Due d'Orlians accordingly agreed to buy it. The price to be given was j^ 1 30,000, out of which ^5,000 was to go to Law, which no doubt partly accounted for the advice given by the astute Scotch financier. Some accounts say that the sum was ^^ 13 5,000, but we have Governor Pitt's own account of the transaction written to his son Robert, on June 29, 171 7. He says : * The stone was sold for 2,000,000 livres, sixteen to one pound sterling, ^125,000. (This is deducting the ^5,000 for commission.) I received the third of the money, and the remainder is in four payments, every six months, with five per cent, interest, for security of which I have crown jewels, four parcels, one to be delivered at each payment.* The remainder was never paid, and when it was claimed from the French Government by the children of Governor Pitt the debt was fully admitted, but it was pronounced impossible to enter into the past transactions of the Regent. This being the case, the price really received by Pitt must have depended, as Colonel Yule says, * on the value of the three boxes of jewels pledged as security, respecting which there seems to be no evidence forthcoming.* Lord Stanhope (Governor Pitt's grandson) tells us that the diamond was carried over to Calais by Thomas Pitt himself, accompanied by his two sons, Lord Londonderry and Mr. John Pitt, and by his son-in- law, Mr. Cholmondeley. Pitt probably concealed it on this

2IO Swallowfield and its Owners

occasion, as he had done previously, by inserting it in the heel of his boot, for which purpose the heels were made extra high and very square, as may be seen in his portrait at Chevening, painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller. The subsequent history of this diamond is so eventful that it is deserving special notice.

In 1772 the * Regent,' as it was henceforth called, was in the circlet of the crown worn by Louis XV. at his coronation.^ In 1 79 1 the National Assembly had an inventory made of all the crown jewels, at the head of which we find the Pitt diamond thus described : * un superbe diamant brillant blanc, appeli le Regent, forme carrie, les coins arrondis, ayant une petite glace dans les filets et une autre \ un coin dans le dessous, pesant 136 carats, estimi 12 millions de livres.'^ In 1792 the National Assembly placed the * Regent ' with the other crown jewels at the Garde-Meuble, from whence it was stolen and was not found till twelve months later, secreted in a hole in the timber- work of a garret in a cabaret of the Faubourg St. Germain. In 1796 it was pledged to German bankers as security for horse-furniture needed for the army. Redeemed in 1797, it. was again pawned for horse-furniture, this time to Vandenberg, a banker of Amsterdam, who attracted crowds to see it in a glass case. When remonstrated with upon the danger incurred by so doing, Vanderberg replied, * The Regent that is in the glass case is a sham ; the real Regent is in my wife's stays ! * At the coronation of Napoleon in 1 804, he wore the Regent in the handle of his sword, where it was placed between the teeth of a crocodile, * unaware,' as some one said, * how much this gem

' Claude Dominique Ronde made the famous crown for the coronation of Louis XV.

' Robespierre's copy of these particulars, which is marked by him, was at one time in the possession of the late Sir A. W. Franks, president of the Society of Antiquaries.

GOVERNOR PITT Fr&m the original picture by Kneller^ belonging to Earl Stanhope,

The Pitt Diamond 211

had contributed towards raising up the most formidable opponent to his ambition/^ In 1825 the crown jewels were carried away by Louis XVIII. in his flight to Ghent, but he brought them back at the second Restoration. On the accession of Charles X. all the stones were reset for his coronation. They were then left unused till 1 854, when the * Regent ' was placed in the diadem of the third Napoleon.* In 1870 it was sent with the rest of the Regalia to the Governor of the Bank of France. In 1886 most of the French crown jewels were sold, but the * Regent ' was amongst the few retained, and is now in a special case in the Louvre. Thus end the adventures of this famous diamond up to the present date. But there is a legend of Swallowfield that at certain times the ghost of * a black man ' walks down Queen Anne's Gallery, and that he is in some way connected with the diamond — either he is the murdered slave who originally found it in the mines of Parkal, or he is an emissary of the god Jagrenat, one of whose eyes furnished the diamond.^

Wilkie Collins was very intimate with the Russells and often was at Swallowfield, and it is said that some of the stories which he heard there about the Pitt diamond gave him the idea of his * Moonstone.'

^ William Pitt was the great-grandson of ' Diamond ' Pitt. ' Between 1854 and 1870 the crown jewels were several times remounted. ' As the diamond came to this country in the rough state, it could not have added much to the brilliancy of Jagrenat's countenance !

p 2

212 Sivallowfield and its Owners

CHAPTER XXIII

GOVERNOR PITT AT SWALLOWFIELD

1718 Immediately after the sale of the diamond, Governor Pitt began to invest the money in land, and that same year he bought Boconnoc in Cornwall from Lady Mohun, and Swallowfield from Lord Clarendon.

On August 16, 1 71 8, Governor Pitt writes: *I went on Thursday to Swallowfield : Col. Otway ^ and Mr. James were with me. We ordered many alterations which will, I fear, put me to vast expense ; 1 wish I had a better head than Abbiss ^ there. The house has been made much more cheerfuller by the cutting down of trees.*

,721 On August 10, 1 72 1, he writes to his eldest son Robert: * To-morrow morning I sett out for Swallowfield, and shall call at Eton to take your two boys with me and some of their comrogues ; and will sett them down there again on Monday.* The younger of these two boys was the future Lord Chatham. He had been sent to Eton at an early age and placed upon the foundation. We do not know which of his * comrogues * went to Swallowfield, but among his chief friends at Eton were George, Lord Lyttelton, Henry Fox, first Lord Holland, Sir Charles Hanbury Williams, Henry Fielding, and Charles Pratt, Lord Camden.

* Colonel Otway, Governor of Jamaica.

^ In his will Governor Pitt left a legacy to *his servant James Abbiss.'

Governor Pitt at Swallowfield 213

In November 1722 Governor Pitt wrote from his lodgings 1722 in Pall Mail to his son Robert : * I hear that the villains at Swallowfield are making more small arches to the bridge towards the house. Let it be who it would that order it, they shall pay for it by the living God ! * This is the bridge over the Black- water in Swallowfield Park, which has five arches. On the top of the parapet on the church side is a sundial, and underneath it and above the centre arch are the initials *T. P. 1722.'

Governor Pitt's grandson William (the future Lord 1724 Chatham) was frequently at Swallowfield in the year 1724. On March 3 1 the Governor writes to his son Robert, from London : * I sett out for Swallowfield Friday ; your son William goes with me.' On May 1 2 he says : * I observe you have sent your son William from Eton. He is a hopefuU lad, and doubt not but he will answer your expectations.' On June 23 he writes : * I shall be glad to see Will here as he goes to Eton, and I wonder you keep him so long after the time appointed ; ' and on July 5 he says : * Monday last I left Will at Eton.' ^

In the year 1725 Governor Pitt's health caused anxiety to 1725 his friends and ^mily, and seems to have increased his natural testiness. Robert Pitt, his eldest son, whilst residing at Bath for his own health which was very bad, had frequent letters concerning his father from Sir Thomas Hardy. In one Sir Thomas writes : * I dined with the old gentleman last Saturday ; the Col. ^ is at home again, so that we are very happy, if the keys were not carried to the old gentleman's bedside at 10 oclock every night, so that there is no going to the Mascarado next Thursday without leave. There must be a grant obtained from

•^ William Pitt was entered at Trinity College, Oxford, in 1726. ^ John Pitt, the Governor's third son, Colonel of the First Regiment of Foot Guards, A.D.C. to the King, married Mary Belasyse, daughter of Viscount Faucon- berg.

214 Swallowfield and its Owners

the King for the park at Swallowfield, else anybody may rob the park of all the deer, and cannot be prosecuted.* Apropos of the latter part of this letter we find in the * London Journal * March 12, 1725-6, the following: *This week Mr. Howard (keeper of Hampton Court Park) has taken and removed eleven waggon loads of deer from Watlingtori Park in Oxfordshire to a new park lately made by Governor Pitts at Swallowfield in Berkshire, without the loss of one deer.*

Two months later Sir Thomas Hardy writes : * I went to dine with Governor Pitt and do not apprehend that there is any- thing amiss. The old gentleman was out of order last week, but is now pretty well again ; but breaks still and complains much of want of stomach, and eats more than I can do.*

The last letter we have of Governor Pitt's was written from Swallowfield on April 10, 1726. It is addressed to his son Robert, and says : * I desire you to send the Duke of Bucking- ham's works, edited by Pope, to this place ; * and goes on : * In your next send the price of all sorts of graine.' Eighteen days later Governor Pitt was dead. He died at Swallowfield April 28, 1706, aged 73. Robert Pitt thus announced the event to his son Thomas, who was at Utrecht : * I am under the dissatisfac- tion of being obliged to advise you of the death of my father, Thursday last at Swallowfield, after two days' illness. His distemper was a mixture of appoplexy and palsie.' Governor Pitt was buried at Blandford St. Mary on May 17, in a vault under the chapel which he had added to the church. At his funeral, the Rev. Richard Eyre, Canon of Sarum, preached a sermon in which he alluded to the false accusations that had . been propagated against the late Governor respecting the dia- mond aflfair, which he attributed to the ^nvy caused by his extraordinary prosperity. The Canon went on to say that the

Governor Pitt at Swallowfield 215

abuse he met with probably occasioned his taking more particular value of a short admonition which (with others he had collected for his use) was found in his own hand with the papers concerning the diamond transaction. The admonitions found in his handwriting were * Learn to suffer/ * Trust in God,* * Pray to Him often * (and accordingly he was known to retire very constantly for that purpose), * Oppress not the poor,* and the last was * Remember to die/ Col. Yule, in epitomising the character of Governor Pitt, says : * Taking him throughout his active life, he is hardly, as painted by himself, an attractive character, though a most forcible one. Bold, decided, and shrewd himself, he held in utter contempt those who failed in such qualities, and in the frank unrestrained expression of his sentiments, whether in seriousness or in merciless and rasping chaff, he must often have given offence to friend as well as foe. Foes he must have had in plenty, being such as he was, and among other things so eminently that character which Samuel Johnson said he loved — a good hater. Of his character as a servant of the Company I have before spoken, and I have already indicated that he was by no means delicately scrupulous. Nevertheless he had a standard of duty and honour, if not a high one, and I believe he kept to it.*

There are portraits of Governor Pitt by Kneller at Chevening, and at Boconnoc,^ and there is one belonging to Mr. Best at Red Rice, near Andover. Governor Pitt*s will fills more than twenty large folio pages; it is dated July 18, 1721 ; his trustees and executors being the Earl of Pembroke, George Pitt of Strath- fieldsaye, Charles Cholmondeley of Vale Royal, and Mr. Chappie ^

^ Boconnoc was bought by Thomas Pitt in 171 7 for ;£ 54,000 from the widow of Lord Mohun, who was killed in a duel with the Duke of Hamilton. ^ Thomas Pitt calls him * cousin Chappie.*

2i6 Swallowfield and its Owners

of the Middle Temple. He left all his * manors at Blandford St. Mary and Kainston, or elsewhere in Co. Dorset, Abbots Anne, in Co. Southampton, Stratford in Co. Wilts, and other lands in counties of Devon and Cornwall, lately bought or to be bought from Lady Mohun (Boconnoc), also Manor of Swallow- field, to my eldest son Robert Pitt for life.' In a codicil, dated 1723, he alludes to having * sustained very great losses by the late South Sea Scheme and otherwise.*

Governor Pitt's wife, who survived him only nine months, 1726 was Jane Innes, daughter of James Innes, and granddaughter of Pitt Adam Innes of Reidhall, Moray, who was son of John Innes of

Blackhills, and great-grandson of Sir Robert Innes of Cromy.^ We do not know the exact date of the marriage of Jane Innes and Thomas Pitt, but it was probably in 1673. They had issue four sons and two daughters : (i) Robert, who succeeded him, of whom more hereafter ; (2) Thomas, born 1688, who married Lady Frances Ridgeway, daughter and coheir of Robert, Earl of Londonderry, and was created Earl of Londonderry in 1726. He was M.P. for Wilton, Captain General and Commander-in- Chief of the Leeward Islands, and died at St. Christopher in 1729, aged 42. He had two sons and one daughter, Thomas and Ridgeway, successively Earls of Londonderry, who both died unmarried, whereby that title became extinct, and Lady Lucy Pitt, who married Pierce Meyrick of Bodorgan, Anglesea, and lived till 1802. (3) John Pitt, A.D.C. to the King, Colonel of the First Regiment of Foot Guards, and Lieut.-Governor of Bermuda, married Mary Belasyse, daughter of Thomas Viscount Fauconberg, and died in 1744 without issue. (4) William, died of smallpox. (5) Essex Pitt, married in 17 14 to Charles

^ Sir Robert Innes was son of James Innes, sixteenth of that ilk, by Lady Janet Gordon, daughter of Alexander, Earl of Huntly.

Governor Pitt at Swallowfield 217

Cholmondeley of Vale Royal, Cheshire, and had issue Thomas Cholmondeley, fether of the first Lord Delamere, and great- grandfether of the present Hugh Lord Delamere ; Jane Cholmondeley, married to Richard Meyrick of Bodorgan, and Mary Cholmondeley married to the Rev. William Wannup, vicar of Walden,^ by whom she had a son, Thomas Cholmondeley Wannup, born 1754, and a daughter, Essex Cholmondeley Wannup. (6) Lucy Pitt, who married in 1 7 1 2 General James Stan- hope, son of the Hon. Alexander Stanhope, and grandson of the first Earl of Chesterfield. He had been Commander-in-Chief of the British forces in Spain in 1708-10, where he greatly distinguished himself, and after serving as First Commissioner of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer, he was in 1 7 1 8 created Earl Stanhope. He died very suddenly in 1 720-1, leaving issue Philip, second Earl Stanhope, great-great-grandfather of the present Earl, and Lucy, twins born 1714 ; George, born 171 7, died 1 754 unmarried ; Gertrude, born 1 7 1 8 d. y. ; Jane, born 1 7 1 9 ; James and Catherine, posthumous twins, born 1721. James died 1730. Lady Stanhope died in 1722-3, when Governor Pitt looked after his orphan grandchildren. He writes in 1723 to his son Robert : * I decline very much, and am doing all the good I can whilst living. And in order thereto I hope all my daughter Stanhope's children are at my house at Swallowfield this evening except Lady Lucy (she was 14) who is with Lady Fane,^ and my Lord Stanhope (who was her twin) we intend to put to Eaton after Whitsuntide, so that there is four children

^ He was son of the Rev. James Wannup of co. Durham, and his sister Catharine was grandmother to the present Marquis de Quilies of Evreux.

^ Lady Fane was her aunt. She was Mary Stanhope, and had been Maid of Honour to Queen Anne. She married Charles Fane of Basildon, who was created Lord Fane in 1719.

2i8 Swallowfield and its Owners

and their servants there, which I intend shall remain till thejr are fitting to go out to boarding schools/

In relation to the marriage of Governor Pitt's daughters, Robert Raworth wrote to him in 1 707 as follows : * You would do well to think of marrying your eldest daughter, for being fitt for it, the sooner the better, and if you assign her fortune some- thing may be done, and she be well placed. I find that if daughters are not disposed of while their parents live, they are liable to many misfortunes afterwards. Men of estates are scarce, and women plenty, so that they do not easily go off with- out a great deal of money, though they be never so virtuous and pretty.* It was perhaps in consequence of this advice that we find Governor Pitt writing a few months later to Sir Stephen Evance as follows : * I wrote last year to my cousin George Pitt, and brother-in-law Curgenwen, to dispose of my daughters in marriage if suitable matches presented, and desired you to pay their fortunes of £6,000 each, with incidental expenses ; and if my daughters and those that marry them deserve it, I shall be ready to make what addition to their fortunes my estate will permit.* Miss Essex Pitt herself seems to have been practical enough, for she writes to her sister-in-law in 1 7 1 2 : * We go to Mr. Bart- mansemmer \sic\ very of one [often ?], and are very much in his favour. I was in hopes of gitting of him at one time, but, the other day, I was strock dead all at once, for he told me he never desired to marry.*

219

CHAPTER XXIV

CHATHAM'S FATHER AT SWALLOWFIELD

At the death of Governor Pitt In 1726, Robert Pitt, his eldest 1726 son, entered into possession of Swallowfield. He had been sent pitt at an early age to Rotterdam for his education, and in 1697-8 accompanied his father to Madras and received permission to reside at Fort St. George as a free merchant.

In 1699, and again in 1701, he was in China on trading expeditions, and in 1722 he returned to England, carrying with him the great diamond. His father then writes to him as follows : * I strictly injoyn you to be dutyfull to your mother and loving to your brothers and sisters, and follow the good advices I have always given you since your years will admit of it, to enter yourselves in the Inns of Court, and goe to Oxford for three or four years, and stick close to your studies, which I would chiefly have to be Civil Law, and if possible make your- selfe master of fortyfication and gunnery, and I hope the little experience you have already had in the world will not only render these accomplishments necessary, but desirable by you. Let me also desire you to take great care of what company you keep, and let it ever be a rule never to lend any money but where you have unquestionable security, for generally, by asking for it, you lose your friend and that too.' Robert Pitt did not, however, abandon himself to study on his return to England,

220 Swallowfield and its Owners

for very soon after, in 1703, he married Harriet Villiers, sister of John Villiers, Earl of Grandison,^ a proceeding which seems to have incensed his fether exceedingly, notwithstanding the flattering accounts of her which were sent to him. Robert Pitt himself announces the fiict to his father in December of the same year. He says : ^ You always advised me against a disreputable marriage, which I have avoided by marrying a lady of family and character, with the approval of my mother and of Uncle Curgenven.* Her fortune is but ^2,000, and ^1,000 more after the death of her father-in-law, Lieutenant-General Stewart. I hope I shall not be abandoned- by you at a time when I have no other support but yourself, since my alliance with the greatest families in England is as much to your credit, as my wife will be a comfort to you when you know her. My present happiness is altogether due to you, as it was the universal report of your good and generous character that induced Lady Grandison to give me her daughter. Her age is twenty-one ; her portrait and letter herewith speak for themselves ; and I hope to obtain some genteel employment by the intercession of her relatives.*

The first letter of Governor Pitt respecting his son's marriage is written in 1704, and says: *In your letter of May 27 you say there is a match on foot between you and the lady mentioned. I believe you play the same game with me as with your mother, who writes me you were married before she saw your wife, and I believe you were so before you wrote to me, for several correspondents tell me that was the first thing you did, which has justly brought you under the character of a giddy, inconsiderate young fellow. As to your marriage, what I

^ Her father was Hon. Edward Villiers, son of George, fourth Viscount Grandison, and her mother Catherine, daughter and heir to John FitzGerald of Drumna.

' The Rev. Thomas Curgenven of Folke, Sherboume, married Dorothy Pitt, the Governor's sister, who was bom in 1656.

Chatham's Father at Swallowfield 221

chiefly dislike is its suddenness, and much wonder you desire a present enlargement of your fortune, which, with your wife's, cannot be much less than ^10,000, a very good fortune for a young man qualified for business.*

Robert Pitt and his bride settled in Golden Square, a square, though close to Regent Street, little known. It wears now a most dingy and dreary look, and it has been said of it that it is * not exactly in anybody's way, to or from anywhere,* but at this time it was described by Hatton as a * very new and pleasant square.* John Wyndham writes in January 1 705 to Governor Pitt : * Your son, my opposite neighbour in Golden Square, lives very handsomely and in esteem with all good men, and also very happily with a good lady.*

In 1 706-7 Robert Pitt writes to his father that he had left town, and, for the benefit of his family, taken a house and gardens with fifty acres of land about it for £60 a year, near Enfield, at a place called Forty Hill, twelve miles from London. Robert Pitt sat in seven Parliaments continuously from 1705 till 1727, viz. four times for Old Sarum, once for Salisbury, and twice for Oakhampton, In 1707 his father wrote to him as follows : * I have been often thinking what box you have got into in the House of Commons. 1 am afraid you are one of those children that are awakened with the rattle that is commonly named the Church of England, for which noe man have a greater veneration than myselfe ; but I know it is often named within those walls to bring over a party, the consequences of which has been generally dangerous to the State. And it is the custom of old stagers to make use of such forward fellows as yourselfe (as the fox did the cat's foot) to trye the temper of the House. It is my advice that you speake seldome, and then to the purpose ; and make it your busyness to be well versed in

222 Swallowfield and its Owners

the orders of the House ; and doe nothing that is dishonour- able on any account. I cannot imagine what has made you an anti-courtier, when wee are sure wee have a Queen that is in no other interest than that of England. I conclude this with recommending to your perusall a book entitled " Miscellanies " by the late Marquis of Halifax/

On November 15, 1708, Robert Pitt writes from London to his father : * My wife intended to have written to you this day, but early in the morning was suddenly prevented by the birth of another son * (William, Lord Chatham). This settles the question of the birthplace of the great Chatham, a distinction which has been claimed both by Cornwall ^ and Wiltshire, as well as Middlesex.

Two months later Robert Pitt says : * Cousin Pitt and General Stewart are godfathers of your youngest grandson, who has been named after the latter/ He was christened in Wren's newly built church of St. James in Piccadilly, where the entry in the register is as follows: ^1708, December I3, William, of Robert Pitts, Esq., and Henrietta, born November 15 ; baptized.'

Governor Pitt, soon after his arrival in England, seems to have been reconciled to his son's marriage, for in 171 1 Lady Grandison writes to her daughter, Mrs. Robert Pitt : * I am pleased to hear my dear daughter was so well received by Governor Pitt.'

On May 2, 1726, Robert Pitt wrote, as we have already said, to announce to his son Thomas the death of Governor Pitt, and

^ No doubt the following entry, which is in Robert Pitt's handwriting, in a large family Bible at Boconnoc, gave rise to the claim of Cornwall ; * This day, Nov. ye 15th 1708, Munday morning about eight o'clock, my son William was bom.' But Boconnoc was not purchased by Governor Pitt till about ten years after this date.

LORD CHATHAM After a picture by R. Brompton, belonging to Earl Stanhope.

Chatham's Father at Swallowfield 223

went on to say : * His estate, by his will, is all left to me, in all places and in all kinds, subject to the payment of his debts, legacies, and some annuities, one whereof is an annuity to yourself from your age of twenty-one years of ^^200 per annum till your age of twenty-five years, and then it is to augment to ^^500 per annum during my life ; after which the real estate (I mean the land) is to descend to you under a strict entail. However, I am willing to forgett your past slighting and disobedient conduct towards me, under the hopes of a thorough amendment for the future ; and as an instance thereof I here enclose to you a letter of credit from Messrs. Benjamin and Henry Hoare att the Golden Bottle in Fleet Street, the most eminent bankers in London, for ^^700 per annum to enable you to pursue your travels as was before intended, with positive orders to you not to exceed that same on any account. The moment you do, I will recall it.' And this threat was actually carried into effect.

The following month Robert Pitt writes to the same son to say that he and his family have removed to Swallowfield, and alludes to * your brother William, and your sisters Kitty, Nanny, Betty, and Molly.' William (afterwards the great Lord Chatham) was now eighteen years old, and had entered at Trinity College as a gentleman commoner the previous January.*

In September 1726 the whole family went for three weeks to Brussels, *to see the Court and make a little tour in the country.' In October they were back at Swallowfield, and Robert Pitt seems never to have left it again. We find in-

^ His admission is thus registered : ' Ego Gulielmus Pitt, filius Rob" arm. de Old Sarum in com. Wilts, natus Londini in par. Sancti Jacobi, annonim circiter octodecim, admissus sum primi ordinis commensalis sub tutamine Mag^ Stockwell, Jan'" decimo die, anno Dom. 1726.'

224 Swallowfield and its Owners

numerable letters written from there during the next three months by him and his secretary, John Sutton,^ respecting family feuds. The frequent severe and complicated attacks of gout and other maladies from which he suffered no doubt added to the constitutional irritability of temper which Robert Pitt seems to have inherited from his father. In November he filed a petition in Chancery against the Earl of Londonderry, Robert Cholmon- deley, and William Chappie, his father's executors. 1727 On May 20, 1727, Robert Pitt died, having survived his

Pitt father only a year. He left by his wife Lady Harriet,^ tUe Villiers, two sons and five daughters : (i) Thomas Pitt, who succeeded him ; (2) William, afterwards Earl of Chatham ; (3) Harriet, married to Sir William Corbet, Bart., of Stoke, and died s.p. in 1748 ; (4) Catharine, married to Robert Needham, Esq. ; (5) Anne,^ Maid of Honour to Queen Caroline, and Privy Purse to Caroline, Princess of Wales, died in 1781 ; (6) Elizabeth Villiers Pitt, who married John Hanham and died in 1770 ; and (7) Mary Pitt died unmarried. Thomas Pitt was the third member of the Pitt family who owned Swallowfield. We have seen that he was educated at Eton, and was afterwards at Utrecht. He spent the winter of 1726 at the Academy at Lun^ville, and was probably still there when his father died. He seems chiefly to have lived at Boconnoc, and was made Lord Warden of the Stannaries and

^ John Sutton was related to Thomas Pitt, for in his will one item is as follows : ';^ 1 00 to my kinsman John Sutton.'

' Lady Harriet Pitt, at the death of her husband, settled in Queen Square, Bloomsbury. She died in Paris October 21, 1736, and was buried at Blandford St. Mary.

' Anne Pitt strikingly resembled her brother, Lord Chatham, in feature as well as in talents, and was remarkable, even in old age, for decision in character and sprightliness of conversation. Horace Walpole, when asked by M. de Caraman if Pitt was like his sister, replied, * lis se ressemblent comme deux gouttes de feu.' She ultimately went out of her mind.

Chatham's Father at Swallowfield 225

Steward of the Duchy of Cornwall and Devon to Frederick, Prince of Wales.

In 1734 he was returned member both for Old Sarum and '734 Oakhampton ; but having elected to sit for the latter, his brother William, who was destined to make such a great figure there, entered Parliament in 1735, sitting for Old Sarum in his stead. Thomas Pitt married Christian, eldest daughter of Sir Thomas Lyttelton, Bart, (father of the first Lord Lyttelton), by which lady, who died 1750, he had one son and two daughters. His daughters were Amelia Pitt, married to William Spry, LL.D., and Christian Pitt, married to Thomas Saunders, Governor of Fort St. George. His only son, Thomas Pitt, was created Lord , Camelford in 1783 and died in 1794, leaving a son, the second Ix)rd Camelford, an eccentric young man who was killed in a duel with Mr. Best in 1804, when his estates devolved upon his sister Anne, Lady Grenville, who left Boconnoc to the Hon. George Fortescue, father of the present owner.

226 Swallowjield and its Owners

CHAPTER XXV

JOHN DODD AND HIS FRIENDS

1737 Thomas Pitt sold Swallowfield in 1737 to John Dodd for Dodd L'^^y ll^y ^^ ^^^ o^ Parliament having been passed to enable him to do so. The Act states that * Swallowfield being a very large building, the supporting and maintaining the same is attended with a great and constant expense, by which means a great part of the rents of the estate in that manor is exhausted, and the clear yearly income arising therefrom is very much lessened.'

John Dodd, the new owner of Swallowfield, was the only son of Randall or Randolph Dodd of Chester,* by his wife Margaret, daughter of William Glaseour, Esq.,^ and great-nephew of Sir Samuel Dodd, Chief Baron of the Exchequer. His grandfather was Ralph Dodd, and his great-grandfather, who bore the same Christian name, is described by Le Neve as * Civis et Pellio Lon- dini,' and was son of Randal Dodd of Little Budworth, Cheshire, who, with his wife Elizabeth Dodd, was buried there.® These

^ John Dodd of Swallowfield had two sisters, Elizabeth and Margaretta ; one of them married — Waller of Balheary and Ballyhoghill, co. Dublin, and had a son, John Barnwell Waller, who died j./., his estates in Dublin going to John Dodd of Swallowfield.

' This family, called also Glaseor and Glazeor, had for arms : Vair argent and azure on a chief or, a crescent gules sa (Le Neve and Ormerod). In 17 12 Thomas Dod, attorney, married by licence Catherine Glasier, so they were probably related.

> On an altar tomb of stone at the east end of the south aisle in the churchyard was fixed a brass plate containing figures of a man and woman in winding-sheets, with this inscription : < Under this stone lyeth the bodies of Randall Dod, of this parish, and Elizabeth his wife, who lived together in holy wedlock about eighty

yxfhn Dodd and his Friends 227

Dodds were an offshoot of the very ancient Cheshire family of Dod of Edge and have the same arms, * Argent, on a fesse be- tween two cotises wavy, gules, three crescents of the field/

John Dodd was born in Chester on the 5th and christened on 6th October, 1 7 1 7, at St. Nicholas's Church in that city. His father died in 1721, leaving him considerable property, including land at Colham, Harefield,^ Moorehall, Burronge, Uxbridge, Hayes, and Hillingdon in Middlesex ; Little Hampden in Bucks ; Beenham, West Compton, Tilehurst, Tidmarsh, and Hampstead Norris in Berks ; and also lands in Cheshire and tenements in Mickle TrafFord and Liverpool. Of these lands Randal Dodd inherited the greater part from his cousin John Dodd ^ (son of Samuel Dodd), who himself had become possessed of them through his mother Isabella, Lady Dodd, daughter and coheir of Sir Robert Croke, by his wife Susannah, daughter and heir of Sir Peter Vanlore, Bart., of Tilehurst,^ Sir Robert Croke's mother being also an heiress, namely Bridget, daughter of Sir William Hawtrey of Chequers.

The executors of Randall Dodd's will were his wife and Sir Henry Bunbury of Stanney, co. Chester. The trustees were the said Sir Henry Bunbury, William Stanley of Hooton,

years, and at the time of their several deceases were about the age of ninety years. Randulphus Dod, filius p'dict, Civis et Pellio Londini, posuit, 22 die Julii, a. D'ni 1634.'

* Eastcote, near Harefield, the seat of the Hawtreys.

' John Dodd, son of Sir Samuel Dodd, was M.P. for Wilts. He is described as *of Hampstead Norris,' and also of Wolverton, Dorset, and of * Oakfield, Berks.* He died s.p, in 17 19. His only brother, who was an examiner in Chancery, pre- deceased him in 171 5.

' Sir Peter Vanlore, Bart., was son of Sir Peter Vanlore, Kt., a native of Utrecht, who became an eminent merchant and alderman of London. He married Susannah, daughter of Laurence Beke of Antwerp, by whom he had three daughters : (i) Jacomina, who married Henry Zinzan of Tilehurst (there is a street in Reading called Zinzan after this family) ; (2) Susannah, Lady Croke ; and (3) Marie, who married Henry, third Earl of Stirling.

228 Swallowfield and its Owners

CO. Chester, Sir Richard Grosvenor of Eaton, and Benjamin Hall of Clifford's Inn, They were directed to expend yearly the sum of ^60 on his son John's education until he was fifteen, and after that age ^120 until he was twenty-one.

In 1722 Isabella, Lady Dodd, the widow of Sir Samuel, died and left John Dodd a property at EUesborough in Bucks and ^30,000 to be invested in land. She also left him her * large crochet of diamond, a diamond ring with one large diamond, and a share of her silver dressing-plate.'

John Dodd was sent to Eton, where among his chief friends were Pratt, afterwards Lord Camden, Gray the poet, and Horace Walpole, who was born on the same day, and went on from Eton to King's College, Cambridge, with him. In December 1735 John Dodd matriculated at King's College as a Fellow Commoner, but does not appear to have taken a degree. A Fellow Com- moner had the privilege of dining at the High Table and of paying double for everything. It was the custom for him to present a piece of plate to the College on leaving. John Dodd presented the following, as seen in the * Plate Book,' No. 25 iv. : *A pair of candlesticks with nosells, weight 68 oz. 4 dwts., with arms of Dodd and inscription : " John Dodd de Swallowfield in agro Berch. anno 1 740 Coll. Regal. Cantab. DD." These were stolen. Also two spoons ; these were exchanged in 1772. And a pair of candlesticks and snuflFdish (or pan for snuflFers), weight 75 oz. 4 dwts. Same inscription as others. These are still in the possession of King's College.'

Cole, in *Athcnae Cantabrigienses ' MS., says : * Mr. Dodd was my fellow-collegian and school-fellow at Eton ; a man universally beloved, lively, generous and sensible ... he had a wretched tutor at college, John Whaley, who would have ruined most other people, but Dodd's natural good sense got the better

JOHN DODD From an ori^inai portrait by Jean Kotufuet, belonging; to Miss Pnrkt..

Arms : A fess gules colised wavy sable, charged with three crescents or.

Crest : A serpent issuing out of a wheatsheaf.

j Motto : In copia tantus.

■

I

I I

1 Mary

Burrowes.

Margaretha Dodd heary and Bally boghill, vail Waller, who d. j./.,

of Swallowfield.

Harry, = Castiliana Westenra, apt. 1st d. of Warner Dragoon Westenra and Guards, I^dy Hester

(/. 1789, Lanibart. She aged 23. re-married Sir Edward Will. I Crosbie, Bt.

t (1st) . . . Sherslon,

I (2nd) J. Vorke of Threpston,

>en. Sir William Parke, K.C.B.

yohn Dodd and his Friends 229

of his vile example. Mr. Walpole and Mr. Dodd, while at college, were united in the strictest friendship.*

In 1738, when John Dodd came of age, he entered into 1738 possession of Swallowfield, and the next year the following announcement appeared in the * Reading Mercury : ' — ^Jan 6th. 1739 On Wednesday last, John Dodd, of Swallowfield Place, came to town and declared himself a candidate for the borough at the next general election, being invited thereto by a great number of the inhabitants, who, attended with garlands, colours, musick etc., rode two and two round the town before his coach.'

Towards the close of 1 740, John Dodd contested Reading as a Whig on the death of Henry Grey, Esq., but his opponent, W. Strode, Esq., was elected, after a very severe contest, by a majority often votes, the poll being 285 for Strode and 275 for Dodd, upon which the latter petitioned against the return, and Strode's election was declared void. John Dodd took his seat for a few days, when the House was dissolved.

John Dodd was not quite twenty-two years of age when he married Jane St. Leger, youngest daughter of Henry Lecoq St. Leger of Shinfield, by his wife Jane Emilia Chardin, daughter of Sir John Chardin.^ The marriage took place at Swallowfield on September 4, 1739.

^ Sir John Chardin, the celebrated traveller, bom in Paris 1643, naturalised, knighted, and married in England in 1682. His wife, Esther de Lardini^re Peign^ was the daughter of a French refugee, formerly Conseiller de Parlement By her he had one son, John Chardin of Kempton, created a baronet in 1720, and three daughters : Julia Chardin, who married Sir Christopher Musgrave of Hartley Castle, ancestor of the present Sir Richard Musgrave of Edenhall ; Elizabeth Chardin, bom in 1684 at Holland House (where Sir John was then living), married Charles Parry, Esq., of Wokefield, Berks ; and Jane Chardin, who married Henry Le Coq St Leger. Sir John Chardin, in addition to his own fortune, a great deal of which he made by buying precious stones in the East and selling them to crowned heads, inherited a share of the * fifty-eight millions ' left by his relative Jean Thierry, a celebrated merchant of Venice, who died in 1636. Sir John Chardin lived for some time at Turnham Green and was buried at Chiswick where the only inscription is Sir John Chardin : nomen sibi fecit eundo.'

230 Swallowfield and its Owners

Henry Le Coq St. Leger was a French Huguenot, natural- ised in 1698. Amongst the Giptains of Horse in the little army that landed at Torbay with William of Orange on November 1 5, 1688, was *Le Coq de St. Leger.' He was son of Theodore Le Coq, Seigneur des Moulins Jousserans et de St. L^ger,^ by hisi wife Madeleine Muysson, daughter of Jacques Muysson (Secre- tary to Henri IV.) and Anna de Rambouillet. On being naturalised he assumed the name of St. Leger in addition to that of Le Coq, his father retaining that of Le Coq only ; thus we find that on April 7, 1 709, a Huguenot deputation was presented to Queen Anne, headed by the Earl of LifFord and Messrs. Le Coq and St. Leger.

Presumably it was at the time of his naturalisation that Mr. St. Leger assumed the greyhound crest with motto ^ Leggiero ma fedele,* which appears on some of the interesting old family plate belonging to his great-great-granddaughter, Miss Dalzell of St. Alban*s Priory, Wallingford, the crest used by his father being a cock.^

Henry St. Leger laid out ^10,000 upon a freehold estate in the counties of Berks and Wilts, and lived at Trunkwell House, which had been for four or five generations in the possession of the Noyes family.^ Mrs. Henry St. Leger survived her husband

^ St L^er, in the Dept of Les Deux Sevres, between Niort and Poitiers, was a famous Protestant centre, the influential family there being that of the Protestant Due de Rohan.

^ This crest appears on Mr. St. Leger's seal appended to several documents in the writer's possession.

' John Evelyn, who was a friend of Le Coq's and stood sponsor to Sir John Chardin's son, may have suggested this purchase. Having been so much at Swallowfield, he probably knew it well. The greater part of Mr. St Leger's estate is now in the hands of Alexander Cobham, Esq., but Trunkwell forms part of Wokefield and belongs to Major Allfrey. The old house, which was last occupied by the Hon. John Fiennes, now Lord Saye and Sele, has been pulled down and only a portion of the old stables remains.

n 1686.— C. R.

*c61^bremarcl de 58 millions.

J

had les Moulins J St. L^r (S. I Port de la Sabl

Co

5 ; des Moulins Jousserans i6, d. 1714 ; made Rambouillet de la Sabli^re ||'^" ard * were witnesses of his will, n France, Holland, and Engia erles, diamans, tepisseries, aj^ St. James's Church, London.

X. DoToth^e leCoq, - Mr. de 1

I 17"

Julia Chardin = Sir Christopher Muagrave, 5th

Bart., of Edenhall and Hartley

I Castle, Westmoreland.

'ohn Dodd, of Swallowfield

d.

2

"I

I"

►th>dd, ize</., of , i>ld.

t or Henriettas Rev. Wadham Knatchbull (son of Sir Philip Musgrave,

Sir Edward Knatchbull, 4th Bart. , 6th Bart,

by Alice, d. of John Wyndham) ; he died 1760.

organ, 5th Duke, died, Bedford part of his t'^ issue of his | daughter, Jan in 1778 Tho 1797 Lord B< of the presen

Wyndham Knatchbull, =» d, 1833.

Sir John Chardin Musgrave, 7th Bart.

1772 Henrietta, = John, 5th Earl of

lied 1779.

Sandwich; d, 1814.

.nd>f Sandwich = H.

Mary

ew Colone.

ge Morgan, =r hddlesden.

Sir George Musgrave, loth Bart.

dritarl of Sandwich =

Sir Richard Musgrave, nth Bart. =

m.

Gil Sandwich.

Sir Richard Musgrave, 12th Bart.

i72|ds Dean of Winchester), who was br ^ ^""^ ^^<* »' '<> Bemaixl Brocas, Esq., of Beaurepaire. IVJards, and married in 1730, at Fulban

4. *■ ■•

yohn Dodd and his Friends 231

many years and continued to live at Trunkwell House till her death in 1763.^ She was buried at Shinfield.

From the time of John Dodd's marriage he entertained largely and extravagantly at Swallowfield. Amongst his visitors at this time we find mention of Sneyd Davies,^ Dr. Thirlby,^ Whaley the poet, Lord Teynham, Pratt, afterwards Lord Camden, Lord Granby, and Horace Walpole. The last-named spent Christmas at Swallowfield in 1 741, as we find in his letters. In Dodsley*s * Collections,* published 1753, there is a poem written by Sneyd Davies, called ^ On two Friends born the same day,' in which a comparison is drawn between * Palamon ' (Horace Walpole) and * Arcite ' (John Dodd) :

The one of nature easy and composed,

Un tossed by passions, and in arts reposed ;

T'other of eager and impetuous soul.

Starting in Honour's race, and stretching to the goal \

One calm, like Theodosius, to desire ;

The other glowing with Verrano's fire,

^ Henry St. Leger made his will in 1743 ; his trustees were Henri de Massue de Ruvigny, Earl of Galway, the head of the English Huguenots, and John Wickart, afterwards Dean of Winchester. It was signed in the presence of Thomas Upton and Peter Fermagnac. The latter was brother-in-law of David Garric, grand- father of the great actor David Garrick. Henry St. Leger had an only son, who was A.D.C. to the Marquis of Granby at the battle of Dettingen, and died from wounds received there, aged twenty-one ; and four daughters : Elizabeth Dorothy, married to Solomon Blosset in 1733 and died 1796, buried at Shinfield ; Mary St Leger, died unmarried 1789; Jane, who married John Dodd; and Caroline St. Leger, who died at Trunkwell unmarried in 1805 and was buried at Shinfield, her name appearing in the parish rates as * Madam St Leger.' Blosset was scion of an ancient Protestant fomily of Touraine.

^ Sneyd Davies, rector of Kingsland in Herefordshire, Archdeacon of Derby, died 1769. *His poems,' says Nichols, *bear ample testimony to his uncommon genius and erudition.'

* Styan Thirlby, LL.D., author and commentator of Shakespeare, died 1753 ; he bequeathed all his books and papers to Sir Edward Walpole.

232 Swal/ow/ield and its Owners

This pleased to wander in Pierian glades. Where the rill murmurs and the laurel shades, That warmM and roused by what his soul approves, The sport, the mistress, or the friend he loves.

In October 1741 John Dodd stayed with Horace Walpole in London, and they went together to Sir Thomas Robinson's ball, where, he says. Lady Emily Lennox* was Queen of the Ball. The next day Horace Walpole wrote to H. Conway : *Dodd has got a fever with the heat of the ball last night, so I shall not leave him.'

In Nichols's * Collection of Poems' (1780) there is a poetical epistle from Whaley *to John Dodd of Swallowfield Place,'

1740 dated March 26, 1740, and ^ A Scene after hunting at Swallow- field,' by Sneyd Davies. Both these poems bear testimony to his geniality and lavish hospitality. Racing, as well as hunting, was a favourite pursuit of John Dodd, and this year (1740) we find him running a bay mare, * Blowsabella,' for the Fifty-guinea Cup at the Reading races, which then took place on Bulmarsh Heath.

1744 In 1744 John Dodd lost his wife Jane, who died on October 13, aged 26, and was buried at Swallowfield. She left four children, Jane and John, of whom more hereafter, and Henry and Chardin, both of whom died within two years, and were buried at Swallowfield.

1753 In 1753 John Dodd married again. He was at this time thirty-six years of age, and his bride only seventeen. The follow- ing is the entry of the marriage, which took place at Swallowfield Church : * John Dodd and Juliana Jennings, of ye parish of Strathfieldsaye, were married July ye 31st 17531 by me, Thomas

* Lady Emily Lennox, 4th daughter of Charles, 2nd Duke of Richmond, by his wife Lady Sarah Cadogan, married in 1746 James, Duke of Leinster.

LIP JEN^

Bar'1

of

15

who bought Woke in Mortimer Cht *ks by EUas Ashi is said to have ma d Johnson, of Lor ;: daughters !

b. II

iam Jennings, = E or of Fort »rge.

Juliana Jen

ong other heirloomi

\

LIP JENNINGS-CLERKE, \

Bartholomew Jeningbs, - KatheI of'Dudleston, Salop; d.

1591. .

Thomas ]i of Dudlestoa dated 1640.

ho bought Wokeficld in Mortimer Church, ks by Elias Ashmole,

is said to have married d Johnson, of London, : daughters ! *

^. 1647.

Godfrey Pearse.

01 U si ai

I 1666

Edward Jennings, = Elizab

Hoi

am Jennings, >r of Fort

rge.

Deborah Dymsworth. She d, 5,p, ; will proved 1774.

Q^ igs, = Lady Mary de Burgh, d. of Michael, r c» for loth Earl of Clanricarde ; she d,

Warren^^y*

Juliana Jennings, • John Dodd, of

Swallowfield.

Ca:

John Jennings, Groom of the Bed- chamber to H.R.H. Duke of Cumber- land ; died at Lisbon, 1782.

1784 Hester Jennings, « John Peachy, 2nd

d, 1754, d. 1837.

Lord Selsey ; d, 1816.

.1

Hon. Caroline Peachy, » Rev. Leveson Vernon- Harcourt, d.iSyi, when Newsells devolved of Newsells Park, on Lord Strathnaim.t

ong other heirlooms at Newsells Park is the ' Jennings gold c

cessfully been claimed. He was bom in 1701 and died in 1798, intestate.

^

yohn Dodd and his Friends 233

Gawton, curate of Heckfield.' Juliana Jennings was one of the daughters of Philip Jennings of Plas Warren, Salop,^ and Dorothy, daughter of George Gierke of Launde Abbey ,^ Leicester, by Dorothy, daughter of Charles Pearse, of Oakfield.^ Her father must have left Shropshire and come to live in the neighbourhood of SwaUpwfield, as the * Reading Mercury,' after announcing his death as taking place on February 7, 1739, at the Priory, Strathfieldsaye, describes his character in the following terms : * He was adorned with all those qualifications that compose a true gentleman ; by continued acts of friendship, generosity, and charity, he gained universal esteem, and his death is generally lamented/ In the marriage licence of Juliana Jennings she is described as * of Coley,' no doubt because at the time she was residing with her brother. Sir Philip Jennings- Clerke, who married Ann, daughter and coheir of Colonel Thompson, of Coley Park, near Reading.* In Nichols's

^ Philip Jennings of Plas Warren was son of Philip Jennings of Dudleston Hall, near EUesmere in Shropshire, by his wife Diana, daughter of Sir William Bowyer, by the Hon. Frances Cecil, sister of James, Earl of Salisbury.

^ And sister of Sir Talbot Gierke, sixth Bart., whowas living at Heckfield Heath in 1748.

' Charles Pearse of Oakfield married Elizabeth, daughter and heir of Rowland Johnson. Charles Pearse was son of Thomas Pearse of New Windsor by Dorothy, daughter of — Noke or Voke of Sussex, and grandson of Thomas Pearse of Bucks.

^ Colonel Richard Thompson, of Jamaica and of Coley, was Sheriff of Berks in 1 7 19. He was son of William Thompson, barrister, and grandson of Sir Samuel Thompson, Sheriff of London (of Berks), who was nephew of Sir John Thompson, Bart, created Lord Haversham in 1696. After the Vachells held Coley, Colonel Thompson bought it. Besides Lady Jennings-Clerke, Colonel Thompson had two other daughters who never married, and in 1748 the Misses Thompson 'made a title for sale.' In 1792 Mrs. Ann Jennings-Clerke and Miss Jennings executed a release, and Mr. William Chamberlayne, Solicitor to the Treasury, bought Coley, but shortly after sold it to Mr. Bradford. In 1802 Mr. O'Connell bought it, and sold it in 1 810 to Mr. Bligh Monck, father of Mr. Berkeley Monck, the present owner, and at that time Miss Frances Jennings 'covenanted' to produce deeds. She was still living at Whitley in 18 18.

234 Swcdlowfield and its Owners

^ Collection of Poems ' there is a short ode by Whaley on John Dodd's marriage to Miss Jennings, The same year as his second marriage, John Dodd again contested Reading, William Strode and Lord Vane^ also being candidates. Man, in his ^ History of Reading,* says : ^ This was the strongest contested election that occurred for many years, corruption was got to such a height that towards the close of the poll from thirty to forty guineas were given for votes.' When the poll was declared the numbers were : Strode 324, Vane 296, Dodd 295, and on the announcement John Dodd fainted away on the hustings.

1754 On March i, I754> Mr. and Mrs. John Dodd attended at St. Martin's Church, London, the marriage of Frances Jennings (one of Mrs. Dodd's sisters) to James Edward Colleton, Esq.,^* of Haines Hill, Berks, M.P. for Lostwithiel, and about the same time Ann Jennings, her other sister, married James Hayes, Esq., of Holyport, near Maidenhead, Recorder of Wokingham and Abingdon, one of the Justices for Wales, and M.P. for Downton.^

J--- In 1755 John Dodd was returned for Reading vice Strode, deceased. Mr. Hare Earle spent ^^ 1,000 backing him.

,75^ In the ^Oxford Gazette' and ^Reading Mercury' for June 1759 ^^ following announcement occurs: *The company of

* William, second Viscount Vane, born 17 13, married Frances, sole daughter and heir of Francis Hawes of Purley, near Reading, and widow of Lord William Hamilton. This was the notorious lady who was so proud of her conquests that she dictated her history to Smollett and paid him for introducing it in Peregrine Pickle, .

" Mr. Colleton's first wife was Lady Ann Cowper, daughter of Earl Cowper, but he had no children by either wife and left his property to his relative, Charles Garth, M.P. for Devizes.

' James Hayes, M.P. for Downton, was son of James Hayes of Holyport and Hill House.

John Dodd and kis Friends 235

Berks Militia commanded by John Dodd, Esq., Major, was drawn up at Whitley Wood, near Reading, where they were exercised for the first time, and received their arms, cloathing, &c.'

In 1760 John Dodd and Sir Francis Knollys were returned 1760 for Reading.

/

236 Swallowfield and its Owners

CHAPTER XXVI

JOHN DODD AND HIS TENANTS

1762 In 1762 John Dodd was tried at Reading, by Court-martial, on the complaint of William Mackworth Praed, Esq., captain in the Berks Militia, for unsoldierlike behaviour and for endeavouring to impede him in his succession to the majority of the said regiment. The finding of the Court was as follows : * The Court-martial, upon due consideration of the whole matter before them, is of opinion that Lieut.-Col. Dodd is not guilty of the charge exhibited against him, or any part thereof, and there- fore the Court doth acquit him with honour.'

On December 16, 1762, John Dodd's eldest daughter Jane, who was about twenty-one years of age, was married at Swallowfield Church (by special licence from the Bishop of Sarum) to Robert Dalzell, Esq., son of Gibson Dalzell, Esq., of Tidmarsh,^ and grandson of the celebrated general, the Hon. Robert Dalzell,^ of the Carnwath family. The ceremony was performed

^ Gibson Dalzell of Tidmarsh and ClifTord Street, Burlington Gardens, had a large fortune in West Indian property. He died 1756, and left, besides his son Robert, a daughter Frances, who married the Hon. George Duff.

* This eminent general, who died in 1758 at a very advanced age, served in no less than eighteen campaigns. He was Town Major of Portsmouth, and married Anne Mary Gibson, daughter of Sir John Gibson, Governor of Portsmouth, by whom he had one son Gibson Dalzell, and one daughter, Frances, who married

yohn Dodd and his Tenants 237

by George Talbot, curate pro tem.y a cousin of the bride's mother, and it was thus announced in the * Reading Mercury : ' * December 1 8, 1 762. On Thursday last, was married at Swallow- field, in this county, Robert Dalzell, Esq., of Tidmarsh, one of the officers of our Militia, and grandson and heir of the late Generall Dalzell, to Miss Dodd, daughter of Col. Dodd, of the same regiment, and one of the members of this town, an agree- able young lady of large fortune, and with every other accom- plishment necessary to adorn the marriage state.' ^

In 1768 Henry Vansittart and John Dodd were returned for ,753 Reading. At the close of the poll the numbers for each candidate were : Vansittart 401, John Dodd 396, and John Bindley 193.

In 1774 Francis Annesley and John Dodd were the 1774 members returned for Reading ; the numbers being, Annesley 326, and Dodd 302 ; the defeated candidate, John Walter,^ polled 251.

Alexander Hamilton (of the Belhaven family) and died in 1731. General Dalzell bought the Manor of Tidmarsh from Alexander Wilson. His great-grandson, Robert Dalzell, sold it.

^ They had two sons, Robert and John. Robert, who wa^ bom in 1765, sold Tidmarsh about the beginning of this century. His son Robert married Margaret, daughter of Mr. Legh of Lyme, and their daughter. Miss C. M. L. Dalzell of St. Alban's Priory, Wallingford, is the only representative living of the first &mily of John Dodd of Swallowfield. Miss C. M. L. Dalzell has some curious old stained glass which came from Tidmarsh, as well as some most interesting old plate which belonged to her French Huguenot ancestors, the St. Legers and the Chardins.

' John Walter of Farley Hill, Swallowfield, was one of the same family as John Walter, Esq., M.P., of Barbados and of Busbridge Hall, and was descended from Sir William Walter, Bart., of Sarsden, Oxfordshire, who was an intimate friend of Henry, Lord Clarendon. John Walter of Farley Hill married Newton, only daughter of Alexander Walker, of Swallowfield and Barbados, Sheriff of Berks in 1 75 1. She was bom in 1734, and died 1772, aged thirty-eight, and is buried at Swallowfield, where there is a marble slab erected to her memory. Her father, Alexander Walker, was probably descended from Sir Walter Walker of Bushey Hall, Herts, Advocate to Charles H.'s Queen, who was also a great friend of Lord Clarendon. William Walker, the second son of Sir Walter, married Mary,

238 Swallowfield and its Owners

1778 John Dodd lost his second wife Juliana in 1778. She died, aged forty-two, on November 9, and was buried on the 1 7th at Swallowfield.

1780 Among the presentments made at the Court Leet held at Swallowfield on October 23, 1 780, the following seem of some local interest : That John Walter, Esquire, holds a house and five acres of land at Farley Hill (late Alexander's) ^ of the Lord of this Manor. Also that the said John Walter holds another house and ten acres of land called * Delawares ' ^ in Swallowfield Street (late Oades). Also the said John Walter holds another house and eight acres of land at Farley Hill (late Lanoe's). Also the said John Walter holds two other houses and nine acres of land in Swallowfield Street,^ part laid into the garden (late Turner's). Also that the said John Walter holds two acres of common and a lane on Farley Hill enclosed by Colonel Lanoe ^ (whereon the

daughter of Powell Pryce of Newton, co. Montgomery, and Earley Court, Reading. Hence, no doubt, the reason of the name ^ Newton' having been given to Miss Walker.

' We find in the Calendar of Berkshire Wills that Richard Alexander of Swallowfield made his will in 1579, John Alexander in 1628, and another John in 1635. A William Alexander was churchwarden of Swallowfield in 1750.

^ Anne Walter, daughter of Nehemiah Walter of Middlesex, married first George, eleventh Lord Abergavenny, and secondly, John, Earl Delawarr. She died 1748. It seems not improbable that she may have been a relative of John Walter of Farley HilL

' Swallowfield * Street,* the * Straat ' or • Stratum ' or Roman Road, which passed due east by Park Lane, New Bridge on the Loddon, crossed the Black water at Thatcher's Ford, passed through West Court &c. The name still survives in Swallowfield village.

^ Colonel Charles Lannoy. The de Lannoys were a very old and noble French family who took their name from the town of Lannoy, near Lille. Jean Scotier gives the genealogy of this family in the second volume of his Recueiis Gdnda- logiques and begins with Hugues, Seigneur de Lys et de Lannoy, who died in 1349. Several members of this family fled from their country in the sixteenth century in consequence of religious persecutions, and we find them soon after entering into various mercantile pursuits in this country. According to this author, Jean de Lannoy was mercer to Queen Elizabeth, and his descendant. Sir Timothy Lannoy, a most eminent silk-dyer, became Lord Mayor of London, but his name does

yohn Dodd and his Tenants 239

house is built and laid into the Park). Also that John Elisha holds tenements and land at Dunningshole ^ (late Ball's).^ Also that

not appear amongst the holders of that office. Elizabeth Lannoy, daughter of Sir Timothy, married John Hunter, merchant, son of Henry Hunter, cdias Venour, merchant of London, 1633 (descended from the Venours of Lincolnshire, who were also of French descent) ; and her son Henry Lannoy Hunter, who married into another Huguenot family, that of the Bosanquets of Languedoc, purchased Beech- hill, and was ancestor of Sir Claudius Hunter, grandfather of the present Henry Lannoy Hunter of Beech-hill, and of Sir Charles Hunter, Bart, of Mortimer Hill. It is interesting to note that the proficiency in the art of venery, from which the patronymic of ' Venour ' arose, is specially maintained in the above-named repre- sentatives of the family.

In 1803 Francis Alexander Lanoe, French priest of the parish of Vemeusse, diocese Lisieux, Normandy, was buried at St. Mary's, Reading.

' Dunningshole is still so called. In the parish rates of 1801 we find it written * Dunalshole ' and ^ Donelshoe.' Derivation unknown.

' The Balls of Barkham and Wokingham were an old family bearing arms, and a special interest attaches to the latter in consequence of the strong presumption held by some authorities that the great General Washington was connected with, if not descended maternally from, one of them. Colonel Joseph Ball of Virginia (son of Colonel William Ball in Virginia in 1630) married secondly, in 1707-8, Mary, widow of — Johnson, and they had a daughter, Mary Ball, who married Augustine Washington and became the mother of the General. After the death of her second husband in 171 1 Mrs. Joseph Ball returned to England with this daughter and an elder one, Eliza Johnson, whom she had by her first husband. It is not known whither they went first. Augustine Washington is said to have met Mary Ball in Cheshire, but eventually Mrs. Joseph Ball and her two daughters appear to have settled in Wokingham, which we learn from the following note which has been found in the letter-book of Joseph Ball of Gray's Inn (son, by his first wife, of Colonel Joseph Ball of Virginia), uncle of General Washington : * Madam, — As you were so genteel when I was at Wokingham that you would not withhold Mr. Ball's picture and gloves from me, as I was of the family (and I am fully persuaded he was my grand&ther's uncle), if you will make a present of his picture and gloves, I will make you a present of something that shall be as good or better to you. But if you don't like this proposal, please to let me know what is the lowest you will take for them in money, and I will tell you whether I will give it or not I think they would be most properly placed with me. — I am, good Madam, your humble servant, Joseph Ball. July 5th, 1750. Stratford by London. To Mrs. Johnson, at Wokingham, Berks.' Then follows a note stating that Mrs. Johnson had given the picture and gloves for three guineas. Now, the interesting suggestions of this letter are these : How did this portrait get to Wokingham ? Was it not because the Balls of Virginia came from Wokingham, and that Mary Ball returned to the home of her husband's ancestors ? Mary Ball's maiden name is not known ; she appears to have been of humble extraction, and it is supposed she may have been companion to Colonel Ball's first wife,, who was Elizabeth, granddaughter of Sir William

240 Swallowjield and its Owners

the widow Watmore holds a house and three piddles (pightles) of land, about eight acres, in Swallowfield, as well as eight acres of land called * Raggetts,' * adjoining to Farley Hill, and a coppice called * Eames ' ^ at Farley Hill, and seven acres of moors at Farley Hill late * Lawrences,' ^ and a house and garden at Farley Hill in the possession of Hugh Burrett,^ and a house and garden and blacksmith's shop at Farley in the possession of Philip Crithcr * and Edward Watts. Also that Thomas Home held four acres of land called * Coxetters,' ^ at the bottom of Farley Hill, near Rede's Lane.^ Also that Lord Dartmouth holds a house and forty acres of land at Dunningshole and a farm and lands in Frog Lane. Also that Mr. Thomas Flory ^ holds a form and lands at Swallow- field Cross.^ Also that Mrs. Noyse ^^ holds one acre of land in Swallowfield Common mead. Also that Mrs. Fletcher ^^ holds

Romney. The well-known Mr. Moncure Conway, himself a descendant of General Washington, furnished the greater part of this information.

^ In 1823 a map gives 'Raggots or Rackett's Lane.' Letters of administration of the estate of Thomas Raggot of YaXendon were granted in 1557.

^ Amongst Berks wills at Somerset House are those of George Eames, 1593 ; of Robert Eames, 1623 ; and of Christian Eames, 1632, all of Finchampstead.

' John Lawrence of Swallowfield married in 1708 Flora Round of Swallowfield, a god-daughter of Flora, Countess of Clarendon.

^ The name ^ Burrett ' is a very old one in Swallowfield, and still continues.

* In 1658 * Chricher * was buried at Shinfield. In 18 13 James Critcher was the * officiating clerk ' at Swallowfield.

^ In the Calendar of Berks Wills we find those of Robert Cocksetter, or Coksetter, of Cookham in 1543, and that of William Coxeter of Abington in 1606.

^ John Rede of Swallowfield made his will in 1569. There are many < Reedes ' still in the parish.

* Amongst the Berks wills are those of William Flourreye of Aldermaston, 1572 ; Thomas Florrie of Shawe, 1610 ; Thomas Florrie of Donnington, 1616. In a map of Swallowfield estate in 18 12 there is land marked 'the devisees of Stephen Flory;

^ Swallowfield Cross was on the site of the present Park School.

'® The Noyes family owned Trunkwell for four or five generations, and many of that name are buried at Shinfield.

" John Fletcher, * Alderman's Deputy of ye Ward of ye Tower,' 1633, married Anne, daughter of Richard Teusley of Swallowfield, and had four sons, John

yohn Dodd and his Tenants 241

a house and 20 acres near the Park Pales called * Bird's/ Also that the Rev. Mr. Waterman^ holds 20 acres at Chill Hills.^ Also that Elizabeth Fulkcr^ holds five acres of land lying in Mr. Walter's park. Also that John Dodd, Esq., is possessed of a toft by the church, the house pulled down, late John White's.* Also that the parish officers of Swallowfield hold a house and piddle of land called * Poor's land,' in Park Lane.^ Also that Mr. Hollick holds a piece of meadow ground called * Bridge Mead,* near Swallowfield Bridge. Also they order that no hogs go roaming about the common of this manor, under the penalty of sixpence for each hog to be paid by the owner to the hayward for taking up and ringing the same. Also they present the clay-pit upon Farley Hill, being dangerous to travellers for want of a fence ; therefore they order that unless the same is properly fenced by John Dodd, Esquire, the lord of the manor, before Lady Day next, they amerce him five pounds. Also they present the footbridge called Salter's Bridge, being not of a proper width and dangerous ; unless altered and

Fletcher of the Middle Temple, — Fletcher, also of the Middle Temple, George, and James. In 1801 we find by churchwardens' accounts that ^Earle, Esq.' was assessed £\\b7^,od, *for Fletchers.'

* There is a pedigree of the Waterman family in Berks Visit for 1664. « Chill Hills, at Farley Hill, is stUl so called. ' Amongst the Berks wills is that of Henry Fulker of Swallowfield, 1622. John

Fulker was coachman to Lord Clarendon of Swallowfield in 1688, and was buried there in 1712, and in 1752 Flora, daughter of John Fulker, was baptized at Swallowfield. One of the oldest tombstones in Swallowfield churchyard is that of John Fulker, the parish clerk, who died 171 2. Many of the Fulker family were baptized and buried at Shinfield. In 1772 there was a Chancery suit between Joseph Sweetser and Elizabeth Fulker and John Richard Fulker.

* In the Calendar of Berks Wills we find that of Thomas White of Swallowfield in 1555. \

^ * Park Lane' should be ' Part Lane,' and was so called because it separated Swallowfield, Berks, from Swallowfield, Wilts. The latter was annexed by the Acts 2 & 3 William IV., cap. 64, and 7 & 8 Victoria, cap. 61.

242 Swallowfield and its Owners

made safe by Lady Day, they amerce the lord of the manor twenty shillings. Also they present William Hunter for digging clay- pits in Aspin Lane, and unless he fills up the same or shelves the same down so as not to be dangerous on or before Xmas, they amerce him ten shillings. Also they present the surveyors of this parish and all other persons digging gravel in the pit on Farley Hill, for not digging the same in a proper manner and ot a proper depth, whereby the pit is enlarged too fast, under the penalty of ten shillings. Also they present that no person shall keep any more cattle upon the common of this manor in the summer than they can winter, under the penalty of twenty shillings. Also they present the ditch in Coppice Lane unless scoured by St. Thomas's Day. Likewise they present that Thomas Green is sworn into the office of Hayward of this Manor for the year ensuing, and that Thomas Hasker ^ is sworn into the office of Tything-man, Also that Charles Bailey is sworn into the office of Bailiff of this Manor for the year ensuing. Also they present the hatch-gate and rails at Tiler's Hatch for being out of repair, and also Great Ford Bridge,

John Elisha. Thos. Green.

Peter Cook. Austin Norman.^

Edward Watts. ^ The mark of George ^ Child.

David Watts. George Read.

The mark of James ** Child. James Hopkins.

' * Hasker,' probably the same as * Handsaker,' * Hansaker/ and * Hanseaker/ names which we find at Lambome and at Easthampstead in the seventeenth century.

' John Watts of Shinfield made his will in 1644.

' The name Norman appears in the neighbourhood as early as 1386, when Richard Norman and William Tanner were the witnesses to the signature of William Farle de Stratfelde Turgis to a lease in favour of John Godard for land in Stratfield Turgis ; and the name still exists at Swallowfield.

yohn Dodd and his Tenants 243

John Eyres.^ Thomas Hasker.

The mark of Hugh "" Burrott. William King.^

Examined by Tho. Round, Steward.^

John Dodd died at his house in Audley Square on Saturday, loth February, 1782, aged sixty-five, being then M.P. for i732 Reading and Lieut.-Col. of the Berks Militia. He was buried on February 18 at Swallowfield Church, where his remains lie in the vault under the Russell Tribune. John Dodd left, by his first wife, Jane St. Leger, one son. Col. John Dodd, his heir, and one daughter, Jane, married, as heretofore stated, to Robert Dalzell, Esq., of Tidmarsh. By his second wife, Juliana Jennings, he left three daughters and one son : (i) Juliana Dodd, born 1 754, married Col. John Yorke, Governor of the Tower, their only son being the late Field-Marshal Sir Charles Yorke, G.C.B., who died in 1882, aged over 90 ; ^ (2) Fanny Dodd, who married General Hamilton Lambart,* and lived to be nearly a hundred years old ; (3) Amelia Dodd, who married five years after her father's death Col. Joshua Westenra, of the 9th Dragoon Guards, son of Warner Westenra, Esq. (of the Rossmore family), by his

^ John Eyre of Shinfield made his will in 1623. At the close of the last century the Rev. Mr. Eyre was vicar of St. Giles, Reading.

' William King of Shinfield made his will in 1557, and Edward King of Swallowfield in 1641.

' The Rounds were at Swallowfield in the seventeenth century. William Back- house left by will £Z to * young Round' in 1660. In 1708 Flora Round of Swallowfield married John Lawrence, no doubt a godchild of Flora, Lady Clarendon. In a map of Swallowfield, 1823, there is land marked belonging to Stephen Round.

* Juliana Yorke had also two daughters : Emilia Yorke, who married General Nepean, and died in i860, leaving a son, the Rev. Evan Nepean, and a daughter, Anna Maria, who married General Parke. The daughter of General and Mrs. Parke has a portrait of John Dodd by Jean Rouquet. When Colonel Dodd sold Swallowfield it was sent to Haines Hill to be taken care of ; it remained there many years, but was delivered up some years ago to Mrs. Parke by Mr. Garth. A photogravure from this picture appears in these pages.

^ General Hamilton Lambart was son of Charles Lambart, Esq., by his wife, the Hon. Elizabeth Hamilton, only daughter of Gustavus Hamilton, Viscount Boyne, and great-grandson of Charles, first Earl of Cavan.

R 2

244 Swallowfield and its Owners

wife, Lady Hester Lambart ; (4) Harry Dodd, who was only sixteen at the time of his father's death. He was educated at Harrow, and became a captain in the ist Dragoon Guards. He married Castiliana Westenra, sister of Colonel Westenra, who had married his sister. He died of consumption, at Purley, near Reading, on October 29, 1789, aged twenty-three, and was buried at Swallowfield. His widow re-married, in December 1790, Sir Edward William Crosbie,^ of Crosbie, co. Wicklow, 5th Bart., who was executed at Carlow, June 5, 1798, during the Irish Rebellion, in consequence of his (alleged) intercourse with the rebels. The soldiers severed his head from his body and fixed it on a pike at Carlow.

^ Their son, Sir William Crosbie, bom 1794, died s.p, in i860, and was succeeded by his cousin, Sir William B. Crosbie, father of the present baronet.

245

CHAPTER XXVII

NOTES FROM THE SALE OF SWALLOWFIELD

Colonel John Dodd, when he succeeded his father and became 1782 owner of Swallowfield, was about forty years of age. On john leaving Eton he had volunteered for service under the celebrated ^^^ Marquis of Granby, who was a great personal friend of his father. He joined him in Germany, and the following letter, written at this time, shows the affection Lord Granby had for the Dodd family :

*ICdorf, November 26, 1759.

* My dear Dodd, — If I give young John leave to come over to England, he shall come on with me or some of my family. . . I assure my dear friend I shall never forget him or anybody that belongs to him ; if I am not so punctual in answering letters as I ought to be, excuse me, for I hate writing as much as I love old John Dodd. My compliments to all friends. I am, Dodd,

* Yours most affectionately,

' V. H. H.

* Granby/

Soon after Lord Granby gave young Dodd a commission in the regiment of Light Dragoons (the 21st) which he raised in 1760 and which was called *The Royal Foresters,* and Lord Granby afterwards procured for him an exchange into the ist Regiment of Foot Guards, or Grenadiers, one battalion of which

246 Swallowfield and its Owners

was then in Germany, as he was most anxious to be upon active service, and it seemed unlikely that the Royal Foresters were to be permitted to fight.^

At the desire of John Dodd, senior. Lord Granby sat to Allan Ramsay for a large full-length portrait of himself. This portrait remained at Swallowfield till 1782, when, at the sale of Colonel Dodd's effects, it was bought by Richard Aldworth Neville of Billingbere (afterwards second Baron Braybrooke), and it is now at Audley End. It is said in the catalogue to have been painted before Lord Granby went into the army, and is the only one amongst his many portraits which represents him out of uniform.

At the age of twenty-seven John Dodd, junior, was the chief actor in a cause cillhre which made much noise at the time. His conduct on this occasion called forth the following attack from the pen of * Junius : '

* A Major-General ^ of the army is arrested by the sherifFs officers for a considerable debt (^^134). He persuades them to conduct him to the Tilt-yard in St. James's Park under some pretence of business which it is important for him to settle before he was confined. He applies to a sergeant not immediately on duty to assist with some of his companions in favouring his escape. He attempts it ; a bustle ensues ; the bailiffs claim their prisoner. An officer of the Guards not then on duty (Lieutenant Dodd) takes part in the aflSiir ; applies to the lieutenant commanding the Tilt-yard guard (Lieutenant Garth) and urges him to turn out his guard to relieve a general officer. The lieutenant (Garth) declines interfering in person, but stands at a distance, and suffers the business to be done.

* This very fine regiment was disbanded in 1763. '^ Major-General Gansell, of the 55th.

Notes from the Sale of Swallowfield 247

The officer (Dodd) takes upon himself to order out the guard. In a moment they are in arms, quit their guard, march, rescue the General, and drive away the sheriff's officers, who in vain represent their right to the prisoner, and the nature of their arrest. The soldiers first conduct the General into the guard- room, then escort him into a place of safety, with bayonets fixed, and in all the forms of military triumph* I will not enlarge upon the various circumstances which attended this atrocious proceeding. . • • I consider nothing but the wound which has been given to the law itself, to which no remedy has been applied, no satisfaction made. Neither is it my design to dwell upon the misconduct of the parties concerned, any further than is necessary to show the behaviour of the Ministry in its true light. . . . Are they (the Ministry) aware of the outrage oflfered to their Sovereign .^ . . . What are we to conclude from so scandalous a neglect of their duty, but that they have other views, which can only be answered by securing the attachment of the Guards } ' ^

At his father's death Colonel Dodd found himself greatly encumbered, and that same year sold the furniture and plate in the family house in Audley Square, as also the Manor of Colham, Hillingdon, and in June 1783 he sold Swallowfield. 1783 The sale lasted seven days, and was eflPected by Messrs. Christie and Ansell. The catalogue of the sale gives us some idea of the arrangement of the house at that date. There was * the Great Hall ' (which contained pictures by Snyder) ; * the Study ; ' * the

* The Adjutant-General ordered the sergeant and men close prisoners to the Savoy, but they got off with a severe reprimand. General Gansell, meanwhile having surrendered himself into custody, was tried at the Old Bailey for firing at the bailiffs, and though it was said the fact was clearly proved, he was, under the direction of the Judge (Nares), acquitted, but was detained upon the arrest, and committed to the Fleet Prison, where he died in 1744. Lieutenants Dodd and Garth appear to have got off scot-free !

248 Swallowfield and its Owners

Eating Parlour/ containing the following pictures : a fruit piece by Van Huysem, portraits of King Charles II. and King William bjr Van Dyck, a * penitent ' by Salvator Rosa, * Naples, a chef-d'oeuvre of that most admired master Marlow/ a sea piece by Brooking,^ and many other works of art ; * The Yellow Damask Drawing-room,' in which were a * curious embossed row waggon and a pair of girandoles with figures and flowers of the Chelsea porcelane,' the lot fetching only i8j- ! and a coloured Japan octagon basin, and pair of olive-coloured storks, realised 95. ! * The Gallery,' which contained, with other pictures, portraits of Horace Walpole, Mr. Neville, Sir John Elwill, Lord Robert Sutton, the Marquis of Granby.^ Amongst the bedrooms we find the * State Velvet Room,' in which was a superb state bed 18 feet high, the furniture a rich Genoa crimson velvet, six gilt-back stool chairs and two dressing-stools to correspond ; the * Green Lorine ' bedroom, the * Blue Lorine ' ditto, *The Yellow Damask' bedchamber, *The White Camblet ' ditto and the * Cassoy Paper ' dressing-room, &c. Soon after the sale of Swallowfield Colonel Dodd took up his residence in Sloane Street, and afterwards moved to Queen's Buildings, London, where he died on April i, 18 16, aged 74. His wife, Mary, did not long survive him. She died at the same place on the 3 1 st of the following month. As they had no children, the family of John Dodd became extinct in the male line. Colonel Dodd and his wife were both buried at St. Mary Abbots, Kensington. Sylvanus Sylvanus Bevan, Esq., of Fosbury, Wilts, who bought

1783 Swallowfield in June 1783, was son of Timothy Bevan,

^ Now in the possession of Miss Dalzell.

' Lord Braybrooke bought some of the pictures, and they are now at Audley End.

Notes from the Sale of Swallowfield 249

Esq., of Swansea, and was born in 1743. He came of an old Welsh Quaker family,. and was related to the Foxes, Han- burys, Gurneys, Barclays, and Hoares. He was great-grandson of Robert Barclay of Urie, the celebrated * Apologist of the Quakers,*^ and in 1768 became a partner in Joseph Freame's bank in Lombard Street, Mr. Freame's daughter Priscilla having married David Barclay (the second son of the * Apologist '), who was himself a partner in this bank. On Joseph Freame's death in 1770 the bank became known as Barclay, Bevan, and Co. Sylvanus Bevan married Miss Louisa Kendall. They had six sons at the time of the purchase of Swallowfield, and in September 1788 had a seventh son, Richard, born at Swallowfield.

This same year Mr. Bevan sold Swallowfield in consequence of having been involved in a dispute with one of his neighbours respecting game. The Bevan crest, a griffin, still remains on the stone mantelpiece in the hall at Swallowfield. Mr. Bevan survived till 1830, when he died, aged eighty-seven, leaving seven sons, David, Henry, Frederick, Charles, George, Robert, and Richard. David's son, Mr. Robert Cooper Lee Bevan, of Fosbury and Trent Park, is the present representative of the family.

The next owner of Swallowfield was Timothy Hare Earle, ]]}^ ,

^ ^ Timothy

Esq., of Moor Place, Herts ; he was son of Timothy Earle, Esq., Hare

^ Robert Barclay of Urie, Kincardine, N.B., was of old Scotch descent, and, through his mother, was related to the Marquis of Huntly. When in Paris, at the age of fifteen, he became a Roman Catholic, but turned Quaker when he was nineteen. One of his granddaughters married Cameron of Lochiel. She had twelve daughters and three sons, the eldest of whom was the celebrated Donald Cameron of Lochiel. Hannah Lightfoot, the fair Quakeress whose beauty so touched the heart of George III. as a very young man, was also a descendant of Robert Barclay.

250 Swallowfield and its Owners

Gentleman Usher of the Privy Chamber to George II., by his wife Dorothy, daughter of Nicholas Trist of Bowdon, Devon, and grandson of Edward Earle of Totness, by his wife Mary, sister of and coheir with Timothy Hare of St. Kitts.

Mr. Earle was born at Totness in 1737, and married, in 1772, Anne, only daughter of Elisha Biscoe of Spring Grove, Middlesex, by whom he had two sons and three daughters : (i) Timothy Hare Altabon ; (2) William Henry, who married Anne, daughter of the Rev. Nicholas Earle, and died in 1 847 ; (3) Mary Anne, born 1773, and married at Swallowfield in 1809 the Rev. G. T. Tyndale, curate of All Saints* Church, Swallowfield, and died 1826 ; (4) Elizabeth Dorothy, died unmarried in 1863 ; (5) Frances Letitia, born 1774, and died unmarried in 1865. Mr. Timothy Hare Earle died at Swallowfield on June i , 1 8 1 6, aged seventy-nine, and was buried at Rickmansworth. 1816 His son Timothy Hare Altabon Earle succeeded to

H. Aha- Swallowfield, being thirty-seven years of age and unmarried, bon Earle j^ jg^, ^^ ^^s High SheriflF of Berks, and in January he received from Lord Folkestone a requisition, signed by thirty- five freeholders of the county of Berks, requesting him to call a meeting * to consider the propriety of presenting an address to the King on the subject of the treatment which the Queen his consort has experienced or is experiencing on the part of the Ministers, &c.' The following was the answer sent by Mr, Earle : * My Lord, — Having given the requisition the fullest consideration, I feel it my duty to decline calling the meeting there requested. I regret extremely diflfering in opinion upon the subject with your Lordship and the many other respectable characters I observe affixed to the requisition.* The Earles are said to have * lived in very grand style ' at

Notes from the Sale of Swallowfield 251

Swallowfield, but in consequence of the depreciation of West Indian property Mr. T. H. A. Earle became considerably impoverished, and sold Swallowfield in 1820, removing to a dower-house which he possessed in Wokingham, called *The Elms.* He died there, unmarried, in 1836.

252 Swallowfield and its Owners

CHAPTER XXVIII

THE RUSSELLS AT SWALLOWFIELD

1820 Sir Henry Russell, Bart., who bought Swallowfield in 1820, was third son of Michael Russell (1711-1793) of Maison-Dieu, Dover, by his wife Hannah, daughter of Henry Henshaw, Esq,

He was born at Maison-Dieu on August 8, 1751, was educated at Charterhouse, and afterwards went to Queens' College, Cambridge. In 1770 he gave a party there in honour of Lord Morden,^ an old friend of his family, being made Lord Chancellor ; whilst the dinner was going on he heard of the sad death of Lord Morden, which took place before his patent was completed.

On leaving Cambridge, Henry Russell went to London to enter on the practice of the law. Soon after he was desired to wait on the Lord Chancellor, who told him he had appointed him a Commissioner of Bankruptcy. This was wholly un- expected, and was a piece of such great good fortune for a young man just beginning life, he being only about twenty-four years of age, that, as he told his son in later years, he pinched one of his fingers to satisfy himself it was not a dream.

He now considered himself in a position to marry, and added considerably to his means by so doing. On August i, 1776, he married Ann, daughter and coheiress of John Skinner, Esq., of

^ Charles Yorke, son of the first Earl of Hardwicke. His son Philip succeeded as third Earl

MICHAEL RU88ELL From the original portrait at SwaUovifield Painted by Georgt Romney^ R,A.^ in 1785.

HA

.11 ','>.■>

VI \

The Russells at Swallowfield 253

Lydd, Kent. She died in 1780, and was buried with her infant son, Henry, at Lydd, where there is a beautiful monument to her memory by Flaxman, the long poetical inscription being written by Hayley and Anstey. Dr. Samuel Johnson, who was a friend of Mr. Russell, wrote the epitaph in the first instance, but preferred the one written by Hayley and Anstey, which was ultimately chosen by Mr. Russell.

Henry Russell married secondly, on July 23, 1782, Anne Barbara, fifth daughter of Sir Charles Whitworth (by his wife Martha Rose, daughter of Richard Shelley, Esq.), and sister of Charles, Earl Whitworth.

In May, 1797, he was appointed to the Bench in India, and was knighted. When he received his appointment Mr. Dundas, who was then President of the Board of Control, told him to call on Lord Loughborough, the Lord Chancellor, to thank him for his support. He did so, and Lord Loughborough very courteously said, * You owe nothing to me, Mr. Russell ; I have only done my duty. I told the Ministers that if Westminster Hall had been polled you would have been the man chosen.' One of the last official acts signed by Pitt on his death-bed was a paper requisite for Mr. Russell's appointment.

Besides his wife. Sir Henry Russell took out to India two nieces. Miss Hannah Russell, who married Sir Theophilus Metcalfe,^ and the Honourable Rose Aylmer. The latter, who was both beautiful and accomplished, died at Calcutta, March 2,

* Lord Metcalfe wrote on March 2, 1804: *My eldest brother, Theophilus John, was yesterday married to a charming young woman, Miss Hannah Russell. His age is twenty. May they enjoy every happiness which good hearts ought to enjoy.* Their happiness was not, however, of very long duration ; in 18 10 Lord Met- calfe writes : * My brother has lost his darling wife, who was really one of the most amiable, the most virtuous of women.' She left an only daughter, Elizabeth Dcbonnaire, who married Sir Peter Hesketh Fleetwood, Bart., of RossalL

254 Swallowfield and its Owners

1800, aged twenty. She has been immortalised by the lovely lines of her great admirer, the poet Walter Savage Landor :

Ah, what avails the sceptred race,

Ah, what the form divine ? What every virtue, every grace !

Rose Aylmer, all were thine. Rose Aylmer, whom these wakeful eyes

May weep, but never see, A night of memories and sighs

I consecrate to thee.

It is to these lines that Charles Lamb alludes in an unpublished letter to Landor (1832) : * Many things I had to say to you which there was not time for ; one, why should I forget ? 'tis for " Rose Aylmer," which has a charm I cannot explain ; I lived upon it for weeks.' ^

In 1 806 Sir Henry was appointed Chief Justice of Bengal ; in 1 8 1 2 he was created a baronet ; and he retired from the Indian service in 1 8 1 3 .

The following paragraphs from the Governor-General's letter

^ Not long after leaving Oxford, in 1796, when Landor was not twenty-one years of age, he was staying in Wales, where he met a daughter of Lord Aylmer, who left a most tender and lasting impression on him. She happened to lend him a book from the Swansea Circulating Library. It was an indifferent romance by a Clara Reeve, which had no sort of interest for him, until he came to a description of an Arabian tale. This arrested his fancy and yielded him the germ of Gebir, Gebir was the poem which first introduced him to fame. Southey reviewed it and wrote to one of his friends : ' There is in it some of the most exquisite poetry in the language. I would go a hundred miles to see the author.' To another friend Southey wrote : * There is a poem called Gebir ^ written by God knows who, sold for a shilling .; it has miraculous beauties.' Thirty years after Landor wrote to Forster saying that he had just discovered and sent to a relation of Rose Aylmer's (Lady Graves Sawle) a little poem called St Clairy written all those years ago for her who had thus lent him the book (see Forster's Life of JV. S. Landor), Rose Aylmer was buried in the cemetery at Calcutta^ where there is a monument to her memory in the shape of a round tapering column.

HENRY RUSSELL (AFTERWARDS FIRST BART.) From the original portrait at Sivallovifi eld Painted by George Romney^ R.A,

The Russells at Swallowfield 255

to the Court of Directors gives an idea of the estimation in which he was held :

* The Honourable Sir Henry Russell having intimated to us his intention of embarking for England on the H.C.S. " Metcalfe," we embrace the present opportunity of announcing this event to your Honourable Court, and of expressing the sense we entertain of the zeal and unwearied solicitude for the advancement of the important interests committed to his charge which have marked his character during a period of upwards of fifteen years, in which he successively presided as a puisne Judge and latterly as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Judicature in Bengal, Although it may not perhaps fall within our immediate province to offer any observations on the conduct of Sir Henry Russell in his judicial capacity, we cannot, never- theless, refrain from recording our testimony to the purity, the persevering diligence, and distinguished ability with which he has discharged the arduous and important function of that high office. . • • Professing these sentiments of respect for the character and conduct of Sir Henry Russell, we should be deficient in justice to him, and to our feelings, were we to omit the expression of our sincere regret at his approaching departure, and of our admiration of those eminent endowments which have enabled him to fill with distinguished reputation the exalted station of Chief Justice of Bengal, and to secure the esteem and veneration of all ranks of people in this distant quarter of the globe.'

Lord Moira was the Governor-General of India at this time,

and writing to Sir Henry concerning his departure he says : * In

the universal tribute of esteem and applause which attends your

departure from India, no one can concur more energetically than

I do ; ' and in another letter he says he will be glad to do

256 Swallowjield and its Owners

anything he can * to testify how highly (in common with every one here) I estimate the benefits this country has received from your able, upright, and dignified administration of justice/

On December 3, 18 13, Sir Henry Russell, accompanied by the Earl of Minto, late Governor-General of India, received two addresses, one from the British and one from the native inhabitants of Calcutta. The latter said : * On the twenty-ninth day of October, one thousand eight hundred and six, we had to perform the pleasing duty of offering you our congratulations on your appointment as Chief Justice, and now, in the fulness of our sorrow, we have to bewail your approaching departure. The period that you have sat in the Supreme Court has exceeded sixteen years ; yet as the days of joy and satisfaction appear short, and the days of calamity as endless, the time of your administration cannot but seem to us of short duration,' &c. The address finished by comparing his * attributes with those which the Asiatic annals assign to the great King Noodhiran, whose name is never uttered without the addition of " Audil," or the Just.' The address was read and presented in the English, Persian, and Bengalee languages.

Soon after his arrival from India, Sir Henry Russell was offered the seat of East Grinstead, then a pocket borough of the Sackville family. Lord Whitworth, his brother-in-law, having in 1 801 married Arabella Diana, Duchess of Dorset;^ but Sir Henry declined, saying he did not choose to be * any gentleman's gentleman.' After that he stood a contested

* Arabella Diana, daughter of Sir Charles Cope, second Bart., of Brewemc, co. Oxford, . by Catharine, sister of Lord De la Zouch. She married, first, John Frederick, third Duke of Dorset, by whom she had one son, at whose early death the title became extinct Miss Cope was remarkably handsome, as her beautiful portraits at Knole testify, and both John, Duke of Dorset, and Lord Whitworth were very handsome men.

The Russells at Swallowfield 257

election for (?) Honiton, but was unsuccessful, and soon after he was sworn a Privy Councillor.

When Sir Henry bought Swallowfield, considerable alterations were then effected in the house, under the directions of Mr. Atkinson, the architect, who, no doubt, made it the extremely comfortable house it now is ; at the same time we cannot forgive him for some terrible acts of vandalism. The high roof was lowered and partially concealed by a parapet, the old brickwork was covered with Roman cement, and Mr. Atkinson made what he called * a very handsome Grecian front of the library face.* The corridor was built and the present dining-room constructed out of a portion of the offices. The fine Italian stone gateway was removed from the site of the corridor to the garden. The staircase was taken down, and a new oak one made, to effect which the richly carved cornice executed for Lord Clarendon by Grinling Gibbons at John Evelyn's instigation, was got rid of.

Swallowfield is quadrangular in plan, and encloses an inner court round which was formerly a complete cloister, but with the improvements some of the arches were filled in. Two sides of the quadrangle are much older than the rest of the house, the roof of these wings being screened with a parapet of baluster ; one is surmounted by a belfry, and the others by a clock-tower. Swallowfield was built with great solidity, even the inner partition being something like three feet thick.

Sir Henry Russell, first baronet, died in London at his house, 62 Wimpole Street, on January 18, 1836, aged eighty-four,* and was buried at Swallowfield with his wife, who had pre-

* There are several portraits of Sir Henry Russell, first Bart., at Swallowfield, one as a young man by Romney, one by Chinnery, which has been engraved, and two by Jackson. There are also two of his wife by Romney, one being the well-known portrait of that lady with her son standing before a looking-glass, which has also been engraved, and which forms the frontispiece of this work.

258 Swallowfield and its Owners

deceased him twenty-two years, and whose body was removed from Sevenoaks, where she had been interred.

Sir Henry left five sons and four daughters, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Henry.^

During his residence in Wimpole Street, where he took up his abode at his wife's death in 18 14, Sir Henry entertained many celebrities, his eldest daughter Caroline doing the honours. Ugo Foscolo, the great Italian poet, soon after he came to England in 18 16, was introduced to Sir Henry Russell, and became a constant habitui of his house. Sir Henry and his family were good Italian scholars, and Foscolo dedicated his * Essays on Petrarch ' to Charles Russell, one of Sir Henry's sons. In his dedication Foscolo says : * The first idea of this kind of commentary having been suggested one evening at your house on reading some passages of Petrarch, I have printed it, that it may remain in your family as a memorial of their hospi- tality to a foreigner ; and since you have been at the pains to translate a portion of it, and correct what I ventured to write in English, it belongs more particularly to yourself.' A copy of these Essays presented by Foscolo is in the library at Swallow- field, * No. III.' of an edition consisting of sixteen copies only, printed by Samuel and Richard Bentleyin 1821. It is inscribed :

To THE Right Honourable Sir Henry Russell, Bart.

Sitis felices, et tu simul, et tua nata, £t domus ipsa in qua lusimus. — Catullus,

' Sir Henry's other sons were Charles, M.P. for Reading, and Chairman of the Great Western Railway ; Francis Whitworth, who married Jane, daughter of Brodie of Brodie ; Whitworth, married Frances, daughter of Admiral Carpenter ; and Geoi:ge Lake, married Lady Caroline Pery, daughter of the Earl of Limerick. The daughters were : Caroline, married Henry Fortescue, Esq. ; Katherine, married Henry Jones, Esq., of Stapleton ; Henrietta, married Thomas Greene, Esq., of Whittington Hall and Slyne, Lancashire ; and Rose Aylmer, who married Henry Porter, Esq., of Winslade, Devon, and Chudzoy, Somerset,

I STONE GATEWAY : ENTRANCE TO QARDEN t

The Russells at Swallowfield 259

Many letters of Ugo Foscolo and his only English sonnet were addressed to Miss Caroline Russell.^ The sonnet is as follows :

*To Callirhoe,

at Lausanne.

" Her face was veiled, yet to my fancied sight Love, sweetness, goodness in her person shin*d. But oh !— I W2ik'd:*— Milton.

* I twine, far distant from my Tuscan grove. The lily chaste, the rose that breathes of love. The myrtle leaf and Laura's hallowed bay. The deathless flowers that bloom o*er Sappho's clay ; For thee, Callirhoe ! — Yet by Love and years I learn how Fancy wakes from joy to tears ; How Memory pensive, *reft of hope, attends The Exile's path, and bids him fear new friends.

^ Long may the garland blend its varying hue With thy bright tresses and bud ever new With all Spring's odours ; with Spring's light be drest. Inhale pure fragrance from thy virgin breast ! And when thou find'st that youth and beauty fly As heavenly meteors from our dazzled eye, Still may the garland shed perfume, and shine While Laura's mind and Sappho's heart are thine 1

« Strawberry Hill, April 26, 1820.'

Amongst some interesting notes made by Sir Henry Russell, second baronet, of his father's earlier associations with great men, the following seem to be worth preserving :

* My father was often in company with Dr. Johnson during the last ten years of his life. He retained many amusing anecdotes of him, and many striking passages in his conversation ;

* In the 'Epistolario' of Ugo Foscolo published in 1854 are several letters addressed to * Calliroe/ and there are many others unpublished.

S 2

26o Swallowfield and its Owners

and I remember to have heard him frcquendy talked of with Mr. Hoole, the translator of Tasso and Ariosto, who used to be a visitor at our house when I was a boy,

* One evening in 178 1, my father heard Dr. Johnson say that he had that day given to the publisher the last sheets of his " Lives of the Poets," and a question arose as to what he should next engage in. The Lives of English Lawyers were mentioned. The Doctor asked which of them ? My father suggested Lord Mansfield. " And what is there in Lord Mansfield," he said, " that should induce me to write his life ? Born of a noble family, reared with a costly education, and entering the world with all Scotland at his heels, what is there to wonder at in his elevation } If his nurse had foretold it, you wouldn't have taken her for a witch. No, Sir, if I were to write the life of an English lawyer, it should be the life of Lord Hardwicke ; a son of the earth, with no education but what he gave himself, no friends but of his own making ; who still lived to preside in the highest Court of the kingdom with more authority, in the Cabinet with more weight, and in the Senate with more dignity, than any man who had gone before him. His was indeed an elevation to be wondered at. If his nurse had dared to foretell of him that he would rise to such a height. Sir, she*d have swum for it."

* My father asked him, one day, where he had passed the preceding evening. " Sir," he said, " I went to the opera ; " and seeing my father looked surprised, he said, " Yes, Sir, I went to the opera to see Vestris dance. I like to ^ee any man do anything that he does better than all the world be$id9s."

* My mother,^ after her marriage in 1782, was curious to see a man of whom she had heard so much, but was afraid of receiving Dr. Johnson at her own house. iShe was, therefore,

' Anne Barbara, sister of Charles, Lord Whitworth.

The Russells at Swallowfield 261

invited to meet him at Mr. Hoole's, and she was astonished at his courtesy. At tea he came across the room to take her cup, which he observed was empty. Sir Joshua Reynolds was of the party. At dinner the Doctor maintained that no man loved labour ; no man would work if he could help it. Sir Joshua took the other side. He contended that some men did love labour, and would rather work than not ; and he instanced Pope. Pope, he said, was fond of society, and had constant access to society of the best kind ; yet he would often quit the most agreeable companions and retire to write verses by himself. " And do you think," asked the Doctor, " that if, after he had thus retired to write, you had flung his verses into the fire before anybody had read them, he would again have retired to write more ? " " Why no," said Sir Joshua, " perhaps he would not." " Why then. Sir," said the Doctor, " it was the love of fame, and not the love of labour. Leander swam the Hellespont, but that doesn't prove that he loved swimming."

* My father called to inquire after Dr. Johnson a few days before his death,^ and was admitted to his room. He was in an armchair by the fireside ; he was too ill to talk, but he recognised my father, and as he sat sawing his body backwards and forwards, he merely ejaculated from time to time, " Pray for me, pray for me." '

^ Dr. Johnson died on December 13, 1784.

262 Swallowfield and its Owners

CHAPTER XXIX

SIR HENRY RUSSELL THE SECOND

Henry Russell, who became the owner of Swallowfield at the

1836 death of his father in 1836, when he succeeded to the baronetcy,

was then fifty-three years of age, having been born on May 27,

1783-

He was a man of eminent abilities and great erudition, to

which he added a most courtly manner. His intellect appears to

have developed very early : he tells us many things which point

to his precocity. For two years before he went to India, which

he did at the age of fourteen, he attended a tutor daily in Little

Russell Street, and says that he used to go every afternoon, on

his way home, to see how the election in Covent Garden was

going on between Fox, Admiral Gardner, and Home Tooke.

*One day in 1796,* he writes, * while I was there, Macklin,

who was then upwards of one hundred and six years old, and

who lived in Tavistock Row, was brought in a chair to the

hustings. I was curious to see what vote the old man would

give, and he did give a plumper for Home Tooke. Bent as his

frame was, it still retained its herculean vastness, and his features

their peculiar and austere command. I do not think I ever saw

a structure of such athletic dimensions, or a countenance of such

imposing energy.^

* Macklin died on July 11 of the following year, 1797. His biographers say he was bom May i, 1690, and that his father and mother had him with them in a turf

SIR HENRY RUSSELL, SECOND BART. From the original Portrait at SivalUnvJield^ by Ctorge Richmond, R.A.

Sir Henry Russell the Second 263

* My father told me, and his opinion was a sound one, that although in versatile and comprehensive power Garrick was unrivalled, and was on this account fond of playing " Lear " and ** Abel Drugger " on the same night, still that, as a single piece of acting, he thought Macklin's " Shylock " superior to anything he ever saw done by Garrick, or any one else, and he agreed with Pope's opinion, " This is the Jew that Shakespeare drew."

* My father,* Sir Henry Russell goes on to say, * first saw it when he was only four years old, and Macklin took hold of the child's mind on his first appearance and held it in fixed attention to the last. To him all that he saw and all that he heard was real, and in the judgment scene he was so completely over- powered that, when Shylock was sharpening his knife, he threw down his head, in an agony of terror, into his mother's lap, and shrieked out, " Oh, mamma, he will do it, he will do it ! " *

In 1797 young Henry Russell sailed with his father for India, when, as we have said, he was only fourteen years of age, and the following account in his words shows the interest he already took in men and things :

* The fleet in which my father and I were going to India was detained from the beginning of July till the end of September, sometimes by the want of convoy, sometimes by the contrary winds, for the first part of the time at St, Helens, between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight, and for the rest at Torbay, and in both cases we found a judge's house to receive us. On the Isle of Wight we were at the Priory with Mr. Justice Grose, and while our fleet was detained at Torbay we were the guests of Mr. Justice BuUer at Lupton.

basket, in King James's army, at the battle of the Boyne, two months later ; but he himself said he was bom in 1699, and one feels inclined to believe that the picturesque story refers to an elder brother of the actor, who probably died in infancy.

264 Swallowfield and its Owners

* Mr. Justice Grose took us one morning to see Wilkes, who was then living, or, as I might more truly say, dying,* at a neighbouring house on the shore of Sandown Bay. I recog- nised at once his strong resemblance to Hogarth's print, and all other prints that I had ever seen of him. He squinted as much and was as ugly as the ugliest of them. He was then attended by an unmarried daughter who was as ugly as he was. The same had been said of his sister, and it was on that account that he used to say he ought to have been the girl.

* To me there was nothing impressive in either his manners or conversation, but, in later life. Lord Sidmouth told me that he had heard George IV. say that of all men he had ever known he thought that Wilkes was the wittiest.

* But boy as I was (not fifteen) I remember being struck with an instance of the inordinate vanity of Wilkes. He asked my fiither if he had yet seen the new edition of " Pope " by Dr. Warton, which had just been published, and, on his saying that he had not, he, infirm as he was, went upstairs and fetched down one of the volumes, to point put a frivolous note upon himself.

* At Mr. Justice BuUer's we met at dinner Sir Alan Gardner and Lord Bridport. After dinner an express arrived bringing the warrant for the execution of two mutineers on board Sir Alan Gardner's ship. He could hardly have been more affected if he had himself been the object of the warrant. The execution was ordered to take place the morning after. Every ship in the Bay was directed to send a boat to attend, and I was in the boat that went from our ship.'

Soon after his arrival in India, young Henry Russell, being barely fifteen years old, was placed by Lord Mornington in his

* John Wilkes died five months afterwards.

Sir Henry Russell the Second 265

Persian Translator's office as assistant to Mr, Edmonstone, whom he continued to serve till 1 800, and to whom, he said, he owed everything he learnt in India.

Henry Russell was at Madras when Lord Mornington arrived there in 1798, and in the notes he left of his life at that time says : * I well remember sitting on one of the sea bastions with General Sydenham to see the Gracchi land. There were three of them : Lord Wellesley (then Lord Mornington) ; his youngest brother, Mr. Henry Wellesley, afterwards Lord Cowley ; and the Duke, then Lieut. -Col. Wellesley,^ who had come from Calcutta, where he was commanding the 33rd Regi- ment, to meet his brother. " Csesarem vehis.**

* Like many, if not most, eminent men. Lord Wellesley was irregular in his habits. He did things by fits and starts, rather by vigour than by method. When his public officers attended him on ordinary business, he was often not accessible, though he was only lying on a sofa with a novel or a classic, reading news or writing verses. But when anything of moment was to be done, nobody could do it better or do it quicker, or continue his application longer or more steadfastly than he did.

^ Lord Wellesley's affections were warm and even eager. When General Harris's brief letter containing the first announcement of the fall of Seringapatam and the death of Tippoo reached him, he instantly ordered his carriage and drove to Mrs. Harris, whom he embraced, his eyes filling with tears.

* It was the misfortune of Lord Wellesley's measures in India to be interrupted when they had been only half executed. If they were not to be completed, it would almost have been better that they should not have been begun. It will hardly be

^ It was on Lord Mornington's arrival in India that his change of family name from Wesley to Wellesley became known.

266 Swallowfield and its Owners

denied that if we had not gone to war with Tippoo when it suited us, he would have gone to war with us when it suited him. What Lord Wellesley would have finished at once if he had been left alone had still to be done, with more difficulty and a heavier cost, at a future day. . . . Lord Cornwallis, by whom he was succeeded, seemed to have no other purpose than to undo whatever he had done. Sir George Barlow, who came next, thought more of saving money than anything else. Lord Minto had enough to do to set right what Lord Wellesley, if he had remained, would never have suffered to go wrong ; and Lord Hastings's successes, shining as they may have been, were achieved at a cost that would never have been called for if Lord Wellesley's original project had been accomplished.'

In 1 800 Lord Mornington sent Mr. Russell to Hyderabad as assistant-secretary to the Resident with a salary of ^1,200 a year, and said he was the most promising young man he knew. Mr. Russell was at this time only sixteen years of age.

The foUowing year he wrote home to a friend ^ : * I am surely one of the luckiest dogs that ever lived. Only two years and a half in India, I have been enabled, by industry and assiduous appli- cation to the Persian and Moor languages, to attain, unsought and unsolicited, the situation of assistant-secretary to the Resi- dent at the Court of his Highness the Nizam, or, to speak in the language of my European brethren in the Corps Diplomatique, that of sub-secretary of legation. The salary is 800 rupees a month : pretty well, I think, for a boy of eighteen,' In October, 1808, Mr. Russell married Jane Amelia, second daughter of John Casamajor, Esq., a member of the Council at Madras. She was a beautiful girl, and had inherited the fine eyes of her Spanish ancestors, but she died two months after her |

* Mary, wife of Sir Andrew Corbet, first Bart.

i

Sir Henry Russell the Second 267

marriage. Mr. Russell then went to England, where he remained a year. During that time he employed Bacon, the celebrated sculptor, to execute for him a monument, which was sent out to India and placed over his wife's grave. It was most beautiful in design and execution. The figures were all portraits, being those of Mr. Russell and his wife, her mother and two sisters.*

Mr. Russell returned to Calcutta early in 1810,^ Lord Mornington having sent him as * Resident of Hyderabad.' This was a very fine position in those days, for which the pay was ^20,000 a year, with a magnificent palace to live in,^ and the retinue of a prince ; and this, says Mr. Russell, * in beautiful country, with one of the finest climates in India.'

In 1 8 16 Mr. Russell married again, this time his bride being a Frenchwoman, Mademoiselle Marie-Clotilde Mottet de la Fontaine, daughter of Baron Benolt Mottet de la Fontaine, the last French Governor of Pondicherry.

Mr. Russell remained at Hyderabad till 1820, when he gave up his appointment, and was succeeded there by his friend Mr. (afterwards Lord) Metcalfe.*

The remainder of Mr. Russell's life was spent in comparative retirement, his failing health preventing him from making a

^ The Rev. Maunsell Bacon, vicar of Swallowfield, is the grandson of this Bacon, who himself was the son of John Bacon, called the Father of English Sculpture.

' It was rather curious that Sir Henry Russell, as Chief Justice of Bengal, had, in his official capacity, to meet his own son.

' The British Residency is a magnificent pile, with the finest staircase in India. It stands in the midst of ornamental gardens, and communicates with the Nizam's Palace by a bridge with eight arches of squared granite. There is at Swallowfield a painting of it with Mr. Russell starting for a visit of ceremony, accompanied by a vast cavalcade and many soldiers.

^ The Hon. Douglas Kinnaird, in his book on the Hyderabad papers, says : * In the following despatches will be found sufficient evidence of Mr. Russell's character as a man, and of his talents as a statesman.'

268 Swallowfield and its Owners

further distinguished career in this country ; but when, occasion- ally, he did put forward publicly his views on any subject, he showed the same vigour of inteUect, and his opinions always carried great weight.

In 1842 Sir Henry, as he had then become, wrote in the * Times,' under the name of * Civis,* a series of the most able letters on Indian affairs, which attracted much notice. Sir Henry thereupon received the foUowing letter from Printing House Square : * Thd Editor of the " Times " presents his compliments to Sir Henry Russell, and begs to express his hope that " Civis " will favour the public with some remarks upon each successive change in the posture of affairs in the East. The letters have every- where excited the utmost attention, and are most valuable as inculcating right views on the policy to be pursued with respect to the mighty empire of the importance of which the public seems now only to be becoming aware.'

Sir Henry was never in Parliament, but we have the authority of the great Duke of Wellington for stating that he could speak well. The following letter from Gerald Wellesley, the Dean of Windsor, was written from Strathfieldsaye to Lady Russell in 1852, after the death of Sir Henry :

* My dear Lady Russell^— We have indeed had occasion this year for feelings of mutual sympathy, and I am sure that those which you entertain for the loss which I have sustained are as Sincere as mine were for you. Indeed, from all that I used to hear from my father and Charles (a generation now no more), I always looked upon Sir Henry as one of the old Indian stock among whom they first rose to so much celebrity. I remember well how often the Duke spoke of Sir Henry's famous speech on his return, and always with the same remark, " It was the best speech I ever heard."

Sir Henry Russell the Second 269

* Alas ! we must now fondly feed upon recollections, but thejr are glorious enough. * . . All the topics of consolation you suggest are very kind ; still most painful to me is the sudden rupture of so venerated a connexion, and one which afforded such honour to every one whom, however remotely, it embraced. And as I never did anything but with a view to his approbation, I seem to have lost the great object of life at a time when it is difficult to find a new one. Yours very sincerely,

* G. Wellesley.*

Sir Henry Russell, after his return from India, paid several visits to France and Italy, whence he brought back many of the pictures and furniture now at Swallowfield ; but he spent most of his time at Swallowfield, interesting himself in improving his property,^ to which he added considerably by the purchase of the largest part of the Manor of Arborfield, and the land going by the name of * Kenny's.'

Sir Henry died on April 19, 1852, aged sixty-nine.* His second wife survived him and continued to live at Swallowfield till her death, which took place there in 1871.

Sir Henry Russell was said to have greatly resembled William Pitt in his features, and certainly the likeness is noticeable in the bust of the former executed by Chantrey in 1822.

^ Amongst other alterations, Sir Henry filled up the canal which appears in the old prints of Swallowfield : it ran from the Lock Pool near the church to the Bow Bridge ; and he also built the two bridges outside the park and the Church Lodge. The two rivers, the Loddon and the Blackwater, join in Swallowfield Park. The Loddon, the subject of Pope's fable of * Lodona,' rises near Aldershot and enters Berks in the parish of Swallowfield. It crosses the Wokingham and Reading road at Loddon Bridge, and falls into the Thames near Wargrave.

'He left two sons, Charles and George, and three daughters : Anne, unmarried ; Mary, who married her cousin. Colonel Dawson-Greene of Whittington Hall and Slyne, co. Lancaster ; and Priscilla, who married George Brackenbury, C.B. Sir Henry Russell's eldest son, Henry, a yotmg man of great ability, predeceased him, dying at Cairo in 1847, aged 28.

270 Swallowfield and its Owners

Sir Henry has left us many interesting notes about Chantrey, with whom he became very intimate. * My sittings,' he says, * instead of being an effort, were a treat ; I never passed a more agreeable time than 1 spent under his hands. His conversation was at once amusing and instructive. I never conversed with any man whose native powers of mind appeared to me more vigorous than his were. He was capable of distinguishing him- self in any course that he had followed. I found him fond of talking of the humbleness of his own origin. He began life as a farmer's boy. I had heard that he first showed his peculiar faculty in cutting figures out of bits of sticks as he sat under the hedge, tending his master's sheep ; and as he seemed rather to invite than to repel the subject, I soon found an opportunity of asking him the question. He said that what I had heard was not the fact ; that at the farm on which he first worked, their mistress used to give the boys a pork pie as a treat for dinner on Christ- mas day, and there was always some ornament of dough in the middle of the top crust. One year it occurred to him to ask to be allowed to provide this ornament, and he accordingly modelled in dough a sow with a litter of pigs, which were baked and served up with the pie. " And what," I asked, " would you give for that sow and her pigs now ? " " Ah ! " he said, after some pause, and with deep emphasis, " I would give a great deal for them." One day when I and my father were visiting him, pointing to a model of his bust of Milton's Satan uttering his address to the sun, he said : " That head was the very first thing that I did after I came to London. I worked at it in a garret, with a paper cap on my head, and, as I could then afford only one candle, I stuck that one in my cap that it might move with me and give me light whichever way I turned." This led us to talk of the

Sir Henry Russell the Second 271

address itself, and as my father repeated it ^ Chantrey said he had made him understand one line which he now found he had never understood before :

"Till pride — ^and worse I ambition threw me down."

In all our editions of Milton " worse," instead of being printed as an exclamation, as it manifestly ought to be, is made a feeble epithet of ambition.

* The last time that I saw Chantrey, a few weeks before his death, he sent for the model of his bust of me, and said, " Let us now see what time has all this while been doing." It was then upwards of twenty years since it had been made. After attentively comparing the bust with my face for some time, he applied his finger to his own nostril, and said, " Oh, here it is ; what was sharp in all these edges has become blunt." Moore, the poet, came in just after and, pointing to my bust, said, " That is Mr. Pitt." " No," answered Chantrey ; "if you look again you will find there is nothing here of the sauciness of Mr. Pitt." '

There is at Swallowfield a very handsome large gilt vase on a pedestal, which was presented to Sir Henry Russell by his sub- ordinates and friends in India. Chantrey was consulted for the design, and chose a plate in Piranesi for the form of the vase. He then proposed that two diflFerent groups, capable of telling the story of what had led to the presentation of the vase, should be placed on the two sides of it,' and that for the designs of those

^ Sir Henry considered Shakespeare and Milton so immeasurably above all other authors that he had their works in a separate case in the library, where they still continue — Boydell's illustrated editions, magnificently bound.

' A few months before the Pindaree War began, Mr. Russell, as he was then, induced the Nizam's government to organise a body of 4,000 of its Irregular Cavalry and place it under the command of British officers. This was called the ' Russell

272 Swallowfield and its Owners

groups Mr. Stothard should be applied to. He suggested that a tiger should be placed on the centre of the lid, and elephants' heads at the four angles of the pedestals, and that, instead of the imaginary serpent given in Piranesi over each handle, a real serpent should be modelled from the life. When Mr. Stothard's designs and a drawing of the whole vase bjr Burnejr, a well- known artist of the day, were submitted to Chantrey, he approved entirely. He said the pedestal might sometimes be used without the vase to hold a basket of flowers for the middle of the table, and to show what he meant he made a hasty sketch with a pen, which, as well as Mr. Stothard's designs, I still retain. The tiger, the elephants' heads, and the serpent were very successfully modelled from the life by Bailey, R.A.*

Brigade,' and some of these soldiers, with Mr. Russell addressing them, are depicted in one group.

^ Rundle and Bridge produced the vase and pedestal, the cost %A which was

i£l,IOO.

273

CHAPTER XXX

SIR HENRY RUSSELL'S REMINISCENCES OF ST. HELENA IN 1821

On his way home from India in 1821, Mr. Russell (as he then was) and his wife stopped at St. Helena, where they remained for some time, and the former, in his journal, has left an inter- esting account of what they saw and heard there. Of course the principal object of their visit was to see Napoleon ; this wish, common to all visitors to the island, being accentuated by the fact that Lady Russell was a Frenchwoman. * For two or three years after Bonaparte's arrival,' says Sir Henry, * he received everybody that wished to visit him, but now refuses to see people, the last person he admitted being Mr. Ricketts from Bengal, whom he consented to receive, supposing him to be the brother of Lord Liverpool, and it had to be explained to Bonaparte that, though a relation, he was not his Lordship's brother.' Sir Henry and Lady Russell were given to understand, through General and Madame Bertrand, that Napoleon would grant them an interview, but on being informed by Sir Thomas Reade, the Deputy Adjutant-General, that they must undertake not to address him either as * Emperor ' or * Sire,' they declined to ask for the honour, and consequently left the island without seeing him. Sir Henry Russell heard, however, many particulars about

274 Swallowfield and its Owners

the great man, both from the Bertrands and from other residents in the island, notably from the family of Sir William Doveton (who was a connection of Lady Russell), to whose house, Mount Pleasant, Napoleon often went. Sir William gave Sir Henry Russell the following account of the Emperor's first visit there. One morning Napoleon rode to the top of the hill that overlooks Mount Pleasant and sent down Count Montholon to say that having prolonged his ride further than usual he felt fatigued, and, with Sir William's permission, would come down to his house and take some refreshment. His breakfast, consisting of cold meat, cakes, liqueurs, and champagne, which his servants had brought with them, was spread on the lawn in front of the door. He went into the house for a little while, took up a Bible, spoke to all the children, pinched their noses, and pulled Sir William's ear, which it seems is a mark of special favour. As he handed Mrs. Greentree (Sir William's daughter) into the house he apologised to her, saying, * You must make allowances for my awkwardness ; I am now an old man.' ^ He asked her a number of minute questions about her family, and said she was a happy mother never to have known what it was to lose a child. He asked her how often her father and husband got drunk, it being his firm conviction that the English were habitually addicted to drunkenness, and that even the parties at Government House were Bacchanalian orgies. On Mrs. Greentree replying that she believed her father and husband seldom, if ever, drank more wine than they ought to do, he said, * Seldom ! What do you mean by seldom } Twice or three times a week, I suppose.' He added that he himself never was drunk but once in his life; it was in Italy, and he suffered horribly for three days after. Colonel

^ Sir William Doveton said he then walked badly, with a heavy kind of waddle, but Ihe symmetry of his 1^ was remarkable.

Sir Henry Russell at St, Helena 275

Hodson (who married Sir WiUiam Doveton's other daughter) told Sir Henry that he had often conversed with Napoleon. The first time, he said, was at Mr. Balcombe's, when he was living at the Briars. That evening he played a rubber at whist with him, which Hodson said he plays very badly. A brow of the hill close to the Briars, to which Napoleon generally walked of an evening, overlooked Colonel Hodson's garden, and if the Hodsons were there by themselves he frequently came down to see them. Once he came the night of a ball at Government House, and expressed his surprise at Mrs. Hodson preferring to stay at home with her children. He complimented her on having such a fine-looking man for her husband,^ and played with the children, for whom he had brought sugar-plums in his pocket. A short time after Napoleon invited the Hodsons to dine with him at Longwood. Sir G. Cockburn was of the party, which was a small one. When they entered, Napoleon was playing at backgammon or trictrac with Las Cases. He rose and desired them to be seated, and then continued his game, talking occasion- ally to his guests. Montholon took the gentlemen into the dining-room and pointed out the place where each person was to sit. Napoleon entered the room first, and the rest followed. Mrs. Hodson sat on his right hand, and he was very polite to her. During the dessert, he collected a number of good things before him, but, instead of giving them directly to her, he gave the plate to a servant and told him it was for Madame. He desired Las Cases to send for a sheet of paper and fold up some sugar-plums in it which he gave her for her children. The table was served with great richness and elegance. There were some pieces of massive gold plate and some beautiful Sevres china. Everything

^ Colonel Hodson was 6 ft 4 in., and broad in proportion. He was Colonel of the Company's corps of infantry at St. Helena.

T2

276 SwcUlowfield and its Owners

of this kind that he has he likes people to admire. He showed the china about, and said that each plate cost twenty-five napoleons. The supplies for his table of every description are abundant and of the best quality that can be procured. Wines, preserves, and all articles that will keep are sent from England. Live stock is brought from the Cape by ships that are kept on purpose, and neither trouble nor expense is spared to give him and his attend- ants the best of everything. At first there were no limits as to quantity ; the consequence was that things were purloined ; every- thing is now therefore supplied in a fixed quantity, but as it is there is enough for the servants to give away largely.

* Of Bonaparte's habits I gathered the following : he reads a great deal, particularly recent works on military subjects ; he still continues to write his memoirs, and Sir Thomas Reade told me that the volume published by Mr. O'Meara, containing an account of the transactions subsequent to his return from Elba^ including the battle of Waterloo, is unquestionably Bonaparte's own work, though his followers wish to represent it as spurious. Bonaparte denies the account given by Chaboulon of the con- versation the latter alleges to have passed between them at Elba, and the share he said he had in inducing Bonaparte to return to France. Bonaparte asserts he has no knowledge of such a person. It is false that Bonaparte is denied access to newspapers or political tracts of any description. On the contrary, all newspapers and recent publications that arrive are sent to him by the Governor, and the Admiral told me that Sir Hudson Lowe even sent them before he had looked at them himself. As a general rule, whatever Napoleon desires, whether books or any- thing else, is procured for him ; all that is required is that what is procured should be procured openly, and not through clandestine channels. Soon after he arrived on the island he

w^

Sir Henry Russell at St. Helena 277

gave a list of books which he desired to have, and they were all got for him. Sir T. Reade told me they were all French and Italian. 1 asked if the great Italian poets were among them, and he said they were. He also expressed, but indirectly, a wish to have a private library he had left at the Tuileries, and he ought to have had it, but it seems he would not ask, and the King of France either did not hear of his wish or would not send it to him without asking. Though he is said to read English, Bonaparte will not or cannot speak it ; when he converses with those who do not talk French, he employs one of his suite as an interpreter. Presents are occasionally sent to him by individuals from Europe, chiefly of books. They must be sent through the office of the Secretary of State for the Colonial Department, but that is the only restriction. He reads the English papers with avidity, and the " Morning Chronicle," for obvious reasons, is his favourite. He is said to watch with great anxiety every indication of public discontent in England. Sir T. Reade told me it is surprising how little he seems to know of the English Constitution. The limitations of the monarchy, the functions and authority of parliament, and the influence of the popular opinion on public afl&.irs are utterly incomprehensible to him. He will not believe that such things exist. Having been accustomed to exercise command despotically himself, he cannot comprehend how it can be exercised in any other manner. After his return from Elba, when he was curbed by the Jacobins, he was no longer the same man he had been before. In the desperate situation in which France was then placed, it was only as a despotic sovereign that he could have served her effectually.

* Besides driving round his grounds morning and evening, which he is able to do without passing any sentry, he walks about a good deal indoors. His billiard-room he has given up

278 Swallowfield and its Owners

to his servants, who are playing all day, though the noise must disturb him. He now wears a plain English-made dark green coat with a star, a white waistcoat, white pantaloons or trousers, and a cocked hat. He sometimes remains in a tepid bath for hours together. Among his own followers he retains his imperial state with all its circumstances. Everybody is un- covered in his presence, and nobody sits but by his desire. Of Bonaparte's own suite. Count Las Cases and his son and General Gourgaud have returned to Europe. Count Montholon has apartments in the same house with Bonaparte. Count Bertrand and his wife occupy a small house, which was built on purpose for them, within a hundred yards of Bonaparte's. He has also in his suite two Italian priests ^ who are said to have been sent to him by his uncle Cardinal Fesch, and he hears mass regularly from the elder of the two. He has also a Corsican physician,* whom we met at the Bertrands', a common-looking young man whose conversation betrayed both ignorance and vulgarity. Madame Bertrand herself, when ill, consults an English doctor. General Bertrand told us that Bonaparte was originally of a very spare habit and at his return from Egypt was extremely thin, but soon after he became Emperor he had a severe illness, during which blisters were frequently applied, and from the moment of his recovery he began to grow corpulent.

* All the news and tittle-tattle of the place is retailed to him by his servants. He knows every ship that arrives, and who comes in her ; and if a party is given, he likes to hear who was at it, what occurred, and even what dresses the ladies wore. It is melancholy to see such a mind reduced to feeding on the

' Probably the Abb^ Bonavita and the priest Vignali, wh6 went out to St. Helena in 18 19. * Antommarchi.

Sir Henry Russell at SI. Helena 279

miserable gossip of a place like St. Helena. But even during the busiest and most critical periods of his life, when one would have thought that he had neither taste nor time for anything beyond the great events that were passing before him, a curiosity about trifling incidents and a fondness for prying into private details seem to have formed a feature of Bonaparte*s character.

* The house in which Bonaparte now lives is the one formerly occupied by the Lieutenant-Governor, but a new one has been built for him within the same grounds, into which, when we saw it, he was expected to move almost immediately. The walls are of stone and the roof of English slate. Its outward appearance is quite that of a gentleman's country seat in England, and within it is admirably planned to combine elegance and con- venience. For real comfort I had rather live in it than in any house I ever saw in India ; the dining-room would accommodate thirty people with ease, and all the other apartments are on a corresponding scale. They are fitted with great taste. The windows have rich hangings of the latest fashion and best materials. The room I admired most is the library, the walls a rich green with gold mouldings. There are fifty-seven rooms in all ; those for Bonaparte himself occupy the whole height of the house ; some of the smaller apartments for the attendants are divided into stories. Of the furniture, some is English and some made on the island. Bonaparte has visited the house several times and declared himself highly pleased with it, and Madame Bertrand said to me, " It is an excellent house, as good as could possibly be built in such a situation ; the only thing it wanted was some trees, and Sir Hudson Lowe lamented that he had not planted them when they began to build." I told Sir Thomas Reade it was satisfactory to me to have seen the admirable house that had been built for Bonaparte at Longwood, for he must be

28o Swallowfield and its Owners

well aware of the stories that had been propagated about his treatment, and one was glad to be able to contradict them on one's own personal observation. Sir Thomas was quite unre- served, and answered all my inquiries with great frankness and good humour ; but, though admitted to be very efficient as a stafi^ officer,^ he is not thought a very amiable man by the people of the island, and he has the credit of any harshness that may occasionally appear in the treatment of Bonaparte or of those around him. Sir Hudson Lowe seems to leave everything to him, or at all events to consult him upon all occasions.^ When, on arriving on the island, I applied to Sir Thomas for the neces- sary permission to visit Bertrand at Longwood, he said to me, ** Bertrand will palm himself upon you immediately, and, for my own part, I have no hesitation in declaring him to be one of the greatest scoundrels in the world."

* I dined with Sir Hudson Lowe the day after our arrival ; he is a small man, apparently near 50, of a fair complexion, with a hanging brow, and a reserved, thoughtful countenance. In his address towards a stranger he is silent and awkward, evidently not from pride, but embarrassment, which is remarkable, as he has mixed much in polished society, and is both a sensible and accomplished man. I soon found that we should not talk at all unless I took the lead. Lady Lowe has a great deal to say, and very little reserve in saying it. She is a large, showy-looking woman of about 40, who has been handsome and has an air of fashion about her, but was too highly rouged and too dicolletie. She is a sister of Sir William Delancey, who was killed at Waterloo, and when Sir Hudson married her was the widow of

' Sir Thomas was in Egypt with Sir Ralph Abercromby, and was also a good deal employed about Naples and Sicily.

^ Lady Lowe always said, *Sir Thomas is the Governor of the island.'

Sir Henry Russell at St. Helena 281

a Colonel Johnson, by whom she had two daughters. The elder married Count Balmain, the Russian Commissioner at St. Helena, and returned with him to Russia a short time ago. Le Marquis de Monchenu, the French Commissioner, was also of the party. It was of him that Bonaparte said, when he heard of his appoint- ment, that they had chosen the greatest fool in all France. He is the only one of the three Commissioners originally appointed who still remains in the island. Baron Sturmer, the Austrian, having also left.^

* Our first visit to the Bertrands lasted for upwards of three hours and was most interesting. Bertrand himself is a very common-looking man, of middling size and dark complexion, his manners plain and easy, but without anything of polish or distinction.^ Madame Bertrand has something very remarkable in her appearance. Her figure is tall, graceful, and dignified, her manners have all the ease and kindness of a polished gentle- woman, and her handsome face, oval with a longish nose and black eyes, was made still more interesting by the paleness and languor of a recent illness. She was in England with her mother as an imigrde from the age of 7 to 10, and speaks English almost as well as an Englishwoman.^ Bertrand speaks it ill ; we conversed, therefore, in French. They talked a great deal of the proceedings against the Queen (Caroline). Considering what their political feelings must be, I was surprised to find in Madame Bertrand an indignant conviction of her guilt. The

^ When some one said to Monchenu, ' I wonder you have the courage to go to St Helena,' he replied, *■ On m'a bien dor^ la pillule.

' Henry Gratien Bertrand, bom in 1773 at Chiteauroux, where his father was ' maftre des eaux et for^ts.'

* Madame Bertrand had English and Irish blood in her. She was nie Fanny Dillon, the only daughter of General Arthur Dillon by his second marriage with Madame de la Touche, tUe de Girardin. Her father, who was one of Lafayette's lieutenants in the Arm^e du Nord, was guillotined in 1793.

282 Swallowfield and its Owners

Corsican doctor was more mealy-mouthed. He had been in Italy at the same time as the Queen, and on my asking him what opinion seemed to be entertained of her conduct there, he laughed and said " Italy was a country where everybody did as they liked without other people troubling their heads about them." Before we left the Bertrands insisted upon our taking some Lunel, saying * It is very fine wine, a present to the Emperor from his sister, the Princess Borghese.* Elegant and interesting as she is in her manners and appearance, Madame Bertrand is said to have a temper of ungovernable violence. Her paroxysms have sometimes been so great as to produce serious effects upon her health.^ On these occasions Bertrand prudently keeps out of the way. She showed us her children, the two youngest of whom, Hortense and Arthur, were very good-looking. When we came out from the Bertrands we found Captain Lutzen, the orderly officer, with Count Montholon, looking at our palanquin carriage which we had brought from India, and I saw, from the inquiries Captain Lutzen made as to the practicability of getting one from Calcutta, that he considered the fact of Montholon having admired the carriage as a suflScient reason for one being immediately ordered for him.

*With regard to the reports which have been propagated relative to Sir Hudson's treatment of Bonaparte, the picture has been greatly overcharged, but that such a clamour should go forth was to be expected from the number of persons who are interested in raising it. It has been received without examination by a multitude of humane persons who, thinking it highly expedient that Bonaparte should be confined, still object to all those restrictions which are necessary to make his confinement

* This is probably accounted for by the Creole blood in her veins ; she was a cousin of the Empress Josephine.

>

Sir Henry Russell at St. Helena 283

effectual, and it has been adopted as a convenient weapon by the party opposed to the Government in England. It originated partly with Bonaparte and his adherents, and partly with those individuals who have committed themselves in their intercourse with him and been punished for their misconduct.

* A Captain Poppleton, after being employed for some time as orderly officer at Longwood, called to take leave of Bonaparte preparatory to his return to England. Bonaparte expressed him- self handsomely as to the manner in which he had discharged his duty, and presented him with a snuffbox, which, subject to the knowledge of the Governor, there could have been no impropriety in his accepting, but when he professed to repeat to Sir H. Lowe what had passed in the conversation, he not only omitted the incident of the snuffbox, but even denied that Bonaparte had made him any present, when the question was directly put to him. I understood that the Duke of York, when this was reported to him, had declared that Captain Poppleton should never again be employed or advanced in the army.* Another officer on duty at Longwood was dismissed for taking a stranger with him when he went at night to post his sentries round Bonaparte's house. Two English officers (C — ^^n and B — d, of the 1 7th) forced their way to Longwood without a pass, and galloped towards the house. These are only a few of many instances of the violation of rules by those who should be the first to obey them.

^ I am satisfied, after being at much pains to observe and inquire, that no restrictions are imposed but such as are necessary, or at least thought to be so by those whose province it is to judge

^ There is at Holland House a ring brought from St. Helena by Captain Poppleton, which was sent to Elizabeth, Lady Holland. It was sent by Count Bertrand and presumably belonged to Napoleon.

284 Swallowfield and its Owners

and who are responsible for the safe custody of Bonaparte. An officer's guard mounts at the gate of Longwood, about a quarter of a mile from the house, in two small buildings like porter's lodges, and during the day no visible precautions are adopted. The only sentry I saw was the one at the guard. At sunset, however, a considerable number, 23 I was told, are posted in a ring at some distance from the house, and at 9 o'clock they draw close in so as to communicate directly with each other and prevent any unobserved ingress or egress during the night At first the sentries were posted in this way immediately at sunset, but at Bonaparte's request they were deferred till 9 o'clock. Even the fence which surrounds his house is sunk, for the purpose of concealing as far as possible from view every appear- ance of confinement. An officer of the rank of captain, called the orderly officer, who is not relieved, has the immediate charge of Bonaparte's person. He occupies an apartment at one corner of the same house with him, and is obliged to see him twice a day and report that he is safe. Bonaparte refuses to receive the orderly officer personally, but always contrives to let himself be seen by taking a morning and evening drive. Within a circle round Longwood of which the circumference is twelve miles, Bonaparte can ride when and where he likes, without the necessity of any attendant. If he goes beyond those limits, he must take the orderly officer with him.

* It is not to be wondered at that Sir Hudson Lowe, in the discharge of such a duty as his, gives offisnce to Bonaparte, nor is it surprising that Bonaparte's temper should be querulous. The Governor will not relax in what he considers necessary precautions, and Bonaparte is dissatisfied that he has not every- thing his own way. The consequence is that they have had no personal intercourse for three or four years, and Lady Lowe, 1

Sir Henry Russell at SI. Helena 285

\inderstood, had never seen him. One among the various instances in which Bonaparte, with his habitual addiction to unmeasured language, has expressed his dissatisfaction against Sir Hudson Lowe, occurred about three years ago, on the nomination of a Captain Lyster to be orderly officer at Long- wood. A letter was written on the occasion by Bertrand in which Captain Lyster was grossly abused, and the term " assassin " applied to Sir Hudson Lowe. Bonaparte alleged that the choice of Captain Lyster was made as a personal affront to him. It appears that many years ago, I conclude before Bonaparte rose to distinction. Captain Lyster was stationed with his regiment at some place where Bonaparte's sisters resided. A ball was given by the officers to which it was resolved that those only of the inhabitants who had shown a friendly disposition to the English should be invited, and Bonaparte's sisters were by this rule excluded. Captain Lyster was one of the stewards at the ball, and he could only attribute Bonaparte's objections to this foct. Captain Lyster sent a challenge to General Bertrand, who replied that he was willing to meet the Governor, but that he would not meet Captain Lyster.

* There is no doubt that Bonaparte always has maintained and still does maintain a correspondence with his adherents in Europe. Bertrand says he never could have any difficulty in forwarding a letter. He would ask any gentleman whom he* met in the street, " Are you a man of honour ? " and the answer being in the affirmative, he would then, with an appeal to his generosity, confide his letter to him under an injunction to secrecy.

* Nobody knows better than Bonaparte the propriety of Sir Hudson Lowe's conduct, but he keeps up a cry for the sake of retaining his hold on the public sympathy ; and of the people in England, those who are now the foremost to censure Sir Hudson

286 Swallowfield and its Owners

for his severity would be the first to exclaim against his negligence if Bonaparte were to escape/

Mr. Charles Russell, Sir Henry's brother, had previously paid a visit to St. Helena, and was more fortunate. General Bertrand represented to Napoleon that, anxious as he* was to sec him, Mr. Russell declined to ask for an interview on being told that he must pledge himself to address the Emperor as * General.' Upon which Napoleon paced up and down for some time in front of his house in order to allow Mr. Russell to get a good sight of him. This was on February 21, 18 18. Mr. Russell writes : * The best view I had of him was when his back was turned. His shoulders seemed remarkably broad, and his head rather large and much sunk between his shoulders. He was dressed in a plain single-breasted dark green coat of a military cut with a star, white kerseymere waistcoat and breeches, silk stockings and shoes with gold buckles, and he wore a cocked hat. His step seemed infirm. Betsy Balcombe describes it as " something between a strut and a waddle," but there is some- thing imposing in his air. Mr. Balcombe laments we did not go closer to Bonaparte, as he thinks it probable he would have spoken to us. I do not think he would ; even if he had we should not have had any conversation. It would not be etiquette to ask him any questions, and those which he puts are so rapid that there is scarcely time to answer. The last person he saw was Lord Amherst, and this interview was procured by Sir Hudson Lowe permitting Bonaparte to make any communication he pleased through Lord Amherst to the Prince Regent, without himself or any other person being present. They had a long conversation.'

Mr. Russell was continually with the Balcombes, and has left us, in his diary of that date, many interesting details respecting

Sir Henry Russell at St. Helena 287

Napoleon which he learnt from them. * Bonaparte/ writes Mr. Russell, * used to play whist with the Balcombes every evening while he was at their house, and his manner was always cheerful and playful. The Balcombe girls one day told him to get on horseback that they might see how he could ride, and he immediately did so with great good humour. Amongst other geographical questions he asked Betsy Balcombe ^^ what was the capital of Russia." She answered, " Moscow." "And who burnt Moscow ? " "She did not know," she said. " Yes, you do ; I burnt it." Once at whist she challenged him to play for a napoleon. He said he would bet a pagoda against it. He won, and he was always afterwards bantering her. "Where is my napoleon ? Pay me my napoleon." He would often let them amuse themselves with looking at his medals and taking casts of them. One night I went to the theatre with the Balcombes. The acting was wretched : a comedy called "The Honeymoon," and a farce, " The Poor Soldier." Mr. O'Meara, Bonaparte's physician, went with us. He told me Bonaparte was not well ; he had a tendency to liver complaint, was subject to dyspepsia, and that his feet swelled, indicating also a tendency to dropsy. He imputed his declining health to the change fi-om very active to sedentary habits. It is twenty-two months since he was on horseback, and an occasional visit to Mr. Balcombe cannot be called exercise. Mr. Balcombe and Mr. O'Meara are not in good odour at Government House in consequence of their being on such confidential and familiar terms at Longwood. When Bonaparte took O'Meara into his household he told him he could place no trust in him if he carried all the tittle-tattle of his family to the Government House. O'Meara assured him that he would not repeat anything, and with great honour and pro- priety he has strictly adhered to his promise. They say he is

288 Swallowfield and its Owners

quite in Bonaparte's confidence and knows more of his real opinions than anyone else. What an interesting narrative he may some day give to the world I

* Mr. Balcombe told me that Bonaparte is much dissatisfied with his situation and treatment, but declares that nothing shall ever drive him to commit suicide. His principal subject of complaint is that an English officer is ordered always to accom- pany him when he rides. The first time he saw the officer following, he put spurs to his horse and dashed up a precipitous hill, up which the officer would not follow him 1 He is said to be an intrepid rider. Whatever may have been Bonaparte's conduct, he should unquestionably receive at our hands every degree of personal respect, comfort, and liberty that is compatible with the secure custody of his person. Such consideration is due from a generous and prosperous people to a ^en great man in his adversity. His hatred of the present Governor un- questionably proceeds in a great measure fi"om the situation he happens to fill. Bonaparte would hate any Governor. But it is in some degree attributable to the personal qualities of Sir Hudson Lowe. The manners of Sir Hudson are reserved and abrupt, and he shows too constant an anxiety about every trifle. Bonaparte complains that his house is exposed to very bleak winds, and there is no shade for him against the sun. He should without doubt have the best house in the island ; he should have Plantation House, which is now occupied by the Governor. They are going to erect a new house for him, but he will certainly die before it is finished.^ The first personal offence he conceived against Sir Hudson proceeded (and no wonder !) from Sir Hudson telling him rather sternly that his

^ This was the house which Sir Henry Russell visited in February 1821 ; it was not then quite finished, and Napoleon died in May.

Sir Henry Russell at St. Hele^ta 289

expenses must not exceed 8,000/. a year. This limitation was illiberal, nor has it been kept, for he has always spent 1 5,000/. a year. Instead of communicating this to Bonaparte himself, the people about him might have been enjoined economy. Bona- parte has regretted Sir George Cockburn since he went away, and he liked Sir Pulteney Malcolm. Mr. Balcombe showed us a very handsome snuffbox which Bonaparte gave him. It is of dull gold, richly wrought, and has a large bright N in the centre, and a raised bee at each of the four corners of the lid. In the border are several smaller N's. Within it is a lock of his hair, a specimen of his handwriting, and some napoleons. The hair is black and remarkably fine. JThe handwriting so bad that I could not decipher it.

* When Mr. Balcombe visits Bonaparte he is in general occupied with large maps, " fighting his battles over again," and representing the movement of armies on them by various coloured pins. He admits that in his Russian campaign he ought to have wintered on the Prussian frontiers, established himself well there, and have advanced into Russia in the spring. He was too precipitate. He wished to sign a peace at Dresden,

and had the pen in his hand for the purpose, but the Due de

told him the world was still at his nod and would not let him. At ChAtillon it was too late ; events had then turned too decisively against him. He was brought back from Elba by the impolicy of forcing the Bourbons on France. He says they will never be permitted to reign, and there will be a revolution the moment the foreign armies are withdrawn. He admits the Duke of Wellington to be as good a general as himself. At four o'clock in the afternoon he considered the battle of Waterloo as won, and sent off an express to that effect to Paris. If the British line had retreated one inch nothing could have saved them.

u

290 Swallowfield and its Owners

It seems the Duke himself was of that opinion, for he told Sir Pulteney Malcolm, at a dinner at Brussels just after the battle, that Lord Anglesea had asked him what he should do in the event of his falling back, and that he had recommended him not to think of retreating an inch. Sir Pulteney Malcolm himself told this to Mr. Balcombe.

' Bonaparte is fond of talking of his Egyptian campaign. He thinks the invasion of England was not so visionary a scheme as it is generally considered. His plan was that the French fleets should get out, draw the English fleets after them, and then, having eluded them, return, and, sailing up the Channel in a collected form, cover the passage of the flotilla. This plan once nearly succeeded. One of his fleets got out. Nelson pursued it, and it was by accident that Sir R. Calder fell in with it on its return. The battle of Trafalgar and the Austrian campaign put an end to all such schemes. Bonaparte admits that success could only have been accomplished by every circumstance turning out in his favour and against us. He never expected to subju- gate England, but he knew he could dictate what peace he pleased in London. He often says that if he were to live his life over again he would not materially alter his conduct. Mr. Balcombe has heard him justify what are considered the great crimes of his life. " Which of our kings," he asks, " have not committed greater } " Let us place ourselves in his situation respecting the Due d'Enghien. He was his most formidable rival, and he knew him to be plotting his destruction. Was it not perfectly justifiable to seize and execute him } Of Captain Wright he does not recollect to have heard. It would certainly have been his policy to preserve his life as the best means of obtaining evidence against Georges and Pichegru. . - * His sick in Egypt were dying of the plague, and in the

Sir Henry Russell at St. Helena 291

greatest torments. He had not the means of carrying them on, and if he had left them behind they must have fallen into the hands of the Turks, who committed the greatest barbarities on all their French prisoners. His physicians recommended laudanum, and, in following their advice, he could have been actuated by only one motive — humanity. If he had left them to their fate, however dreadful, nothing could have been said against him.

* The Turks whom he executed at Jafia had been previously made prisoners of war and their lives had been spared. They accepted service from him, abandoned him, and they were found fighting against him again at Jafla. By all the laws and usages of war their lives were forfeited by their own treacherous conduct.

'Bonaparte is certainly writing his own life. The Misses Balcombe told me they once asked him about it, and he turned over the leaves before them. This occurred when he was living at Mr. Balcombe's, and he had finished his Italian campaigns. The loss of Las Cases may be some interruption to it, as he used to dictate to him. Bonaparte dislikes writing, and his hand is wretched. If he writes he does so with a pencil. Writing is too slow a labour for his mind ; when in power he always dictated, and so rapidly that his secretaries had to use shorthand. Ber- trand now sometimes writes for him. Las Cases was sent away for endeavouring to carry on a clandestine correspondence with Europe. His letter was written on silk and sewed within the sleeve of a jacket as a lining, which a St. Helena boy about sixteen years of age was to wear, and thus convey it to France. The boy's father discovered the letter and revealed the scheme to the Governor. It was in cipher, and the key has never been discovered. The boy was pardoned at the time, but he has since been transported for threatening to murder his father in

U2

292 Swallowfield and its Owners

revenge. The letter which appeared some months ago in the newspaper, signed by Montholon, was certainly written by Bonaparte himself. It complains bitterly of the treatment he receives, and Lord Holland founded on it a motion in the House of Lords. I learn from Mr. Balcombe that Mr. Warden's book contains a good deal of truth, gathered chiefly from Las Cases and others about the person of Bonaparte, but he never had the familiar intercourse with him that he describes himself to have had. He saw Bonaparte only twice or thrice, and " he stole " the gold knee-buckles which he says Bonaparte gave him ! This anecdote affords a fair standard of the authen- ticity of the work.

* Bonaparte's establishment consists of about forty persons, and all his old adherents are devotedly attached to him. I saw a great deal of the Bertrands, and altogether they form a most interesting group. Bertrand himself is rather a vulgar plain man in his appearance, but his manners are good, his conversation is easy and gentlemanly, and he has an active and intelligent eye. Madame Bertrand is a remarkably handsome woman, very tall, and the little girl is one of the most lovely little creatures I ever saw. Madame Bertrand, on showing her youngest child, who was born on the island, to the Emperor, said to him, " I congratulate you on regaining a portion of your independence : here is a stranger who is come without any order from either the Secretary of State or the Governor ! " He was much amused. Bona- parte always calls one of her children, a fat, round-faced, rosy- cheeked boy, " Jan Bull." He got that name from the officers of the " Northumberland." Bertrand talked to me a great deal ; I asked him which he thought the best picture, painting, or statue of the Emperor. He said the Malmaison one decidedly, where he is represented in the consular uniform and with one hand on

Sir Henry Russell at St. Helena 293

his breast. It is the picture of which there are so many prints. David's picture, though unquestionably a fine one, he thought no likeness. Napoleon would never sit for either picture or statue. Artists were sometimes permitted to study him while he was at breakfast. Madame Bertrand said to me that Bonaparte was far from well, having considerable pain in his side and shoulder. Since he has been ill he dines at two o'clock ; he is very temperate, drinks nothing but claret, and is quite indifferent to what he eats.

* There has lately been a quarrel between Montholon and Gourgaud, and the latter has in consequence gone to another part of the island, and will probably leave St. Helena altogether. Gourgaud wanted to fight, but that did not suit Montholon. I met General Gourgaud at dinner at Government House ; he is a little dark man, plainly dressed, without anything striking in his appearance. He had been an aide-de-camp to the Due de Berri, and deserted him to join Bonaparte. The Emperor has desired Mr. Balcombe to present 500/. to Gourgaud on his account.

* Before I left St. Helena Mr. Balcombe gave me a lock of Bonaparte's hair, and a specimen of his handwriting.' This lock of hair, which is of the darkest shade of brown, approaching black, and wonderfully fine and silky, is now at Swallowfield, and one of the most valued possessions of its owners. Amongst other inter- esting relics of Napoleon at Swallowfield are an ice-bowl of crown Derby china, and a plate with the imperial crown and large N, both belonging to sets which he habitually used ; they were given by Napoleon himself to Sir William Doveton, whose son. Sir John Doveton (Lady Russell's brother-in-law), gave them to the late Sir Charles Russell. Also an invitation card for the * cirimonie du mariage de S. M. I'Empereur Napoleon avec S. A. I. et R. I'Archiduchesse Marie-Louise.* And, last of all, a piece of the wall-paper of the room in which he died.

294 Swallowfield and its Owners

CHAPTER XXXI

SIR CHARLES RUSSELL AND SIR GEORGE RUSSELL

Sir Charles Russell, third baronet, who became owner of Swallowfield in 1852, was born on June 22, 1826. He was educated at Eton, entered the Grenadier Guards in 1847, ^*^d became lieutenant and captain in 1853, accompanying his regi- ment to the Crimea. He took part in the siege of Sebastopol, and in the battles of Alma, Balaclava, and Inkerman, and on his return to England he was one of those on whom Her Majesty Queen Victoria pinned the Victoria Cross, * For Valour,' on June 26, 1857.

The following is an account of how Sir Charles gained it, taken from Kinglake's * Crimea,' from * The Romance of the Victoria Cross,' &c. :

* On November 7, 1 8 54, after the Russians had retaken the Sandbag Battery, and were pouring from it a steady fire, some man said, " If any officer will lead, we will charge." Sir Charles then jumped into the embrasure, and, waving his revolver, said, " Come on, my lads ; who will follow me ? " Sergeant Norman and Privates Anthony Palmer and Bailey at once volunteered, and their example was soon followed. Sir Charles began by firing his revolver at a Russian who barred the way ; the pistol snapped, but pulling again. Sir Charles killed the man. At this moment

I

]

CHARLES RUSSELL (AFTERWARDS THIRD BART.) From the original portrait at Swallowfield hy George Richmcnd^ R,A,

>• t •

J. '

1 ' - , ,< ' " o

SIR CHARLES RUSSELL. THIRD BART.. AT THE 8ANDBAQ BATTERY From the original picture by Dtsanges^ tht property 0/ Mrs. Ctorgt Brackenbury^

Sir Charles Russell and Sir George Russell 295

a Grenadier tapped him on the shoulder and said, " You was near done for." " Oh no ! " replied Sir Charles, " he was some way from me." The Grenadier rejoined, " His bayonet was all but into you when I clouted him on the head." Looking round. Sir Charles saw that the Guardsman had spoken truly, and had saved him from an attack of which he was only then aware. " What is your name ? " " Anthony Palmer," was the reply. " Well," said Sir Charles, " if I live through this you shall not be forgotten 1 " And he was not forgotten. He was publicly made a corporal on parade next morning, and ultimately received the Victoria Cross.

* Again and again the little band was hemmed in by appa- rently overwhelming numbers, and seemed on the point of being annihilated, but the valour of our men, and their superior skill with the bayonet, would not be denied, and after superhuman toil they wrested the triumph from their stubborn foemen. Sir Charles himself performed prodigies of valour, and in single combat wrenched the rifle out of the grasp of a powerful Russian, a trophy which he carried with him out of action.'

Kinglake, the historian of the Crimean War, wrote to Sir Charles Russell in 1872, asking for the loan, for the second time, of his Crimean Journal, and wrote afterwards as follows : * It has been my fate to see a great many journals, but I can say most truly that I have never seen anything so terse as yours. .For me (with my knowledge of the collateral circumstances) there is a volume almost of interesting narrative in less than one page of the journal. ... I have an impression — ^and this may make you stare at first — that the peculiar experiences of Inkerman have a very important bearing upon the brand-new tactics of the present day. The tendency of those tactics apparently is to make infantry fight, not of course in a disorganised but, in a decomposed

296 Swallowfield and its Owners

state ; and I take it that the fighting of the Guards at Inkerman was as fine a sample of fighting in a decomposed state as the world ever saw.'

Later in the campaign Sir Charles was appointed D.A.A. General, and in 1855 received the rank of brevet-major. Besides the Victoria Cross, Sir Charles obtained the following decorations : the Crimean medal and four clasps, the Turkish medal, the Legion of Honour, and the Medjidie. In 1858 he became captain and lieutenant-colonel. In 1865 he was elected M.P. for Berkshire in the Conservative interest and sat till 1868. In 1874 he was elected M.P. for Westminster. In 1868 he retired from the army, and in 1877 was appointed lieutenant- colonel of the 4th Middlesex Rifle Volunteers.

1883 Sir Charles Russell died unmarried on April 14, 1883 ; his

brother George, who succeeded him as 4th baronet and became

1898 the next owner of Swallowfield, died on March 7, 1898.

The following account of Sir George Russell was written in March 1895, when he was returned to Parliament for the East Berks division for the fourth time :

* Sir George was born at Swallowfield in the year 1828. Educated at Eton and at Oxford, where he graduated in 1850, he was called to the Bar by the Benchers of Lincoln's Inn in 1853, and attached himself to the Oxford Circuit, which at that time counted amongst its members several men whose lives have since made history, and with whom he formed many warm and lifelong friendships.

*In 1867 he married Constance, daughter of the late Lord Arthur Lennox. Previous to his marriage Sir George had been appointed Judge of the Derbyshire County Courts, a post which he held until the year 1874, when he was transferred to the East Kent Circuit. New to his judicial functions, and having to deal

SIR CHARLES RUSSELL, THIRD BART., V.C. From ike original portrait at Swallowfield painted in 1883 by Sir John Millais^ P.R.A,

Sir Charles Russell and Sir George Russell 297

with the arduous business of one of the busiest and most import- ant of county court circuits, he never allowed his work to fall into arrears, and his quick insight, his sound judgment, and his absolute impartiality soon won him the confidence alike of suitors and of the gentlemen practising in his courts. This was proved when, on his appointment to another circuit being made known, he was presented at Derby with an address from the latter gentlemen. Their spokesman therein recorded the fact that in the mass of cases (many thousands annually) which had been brought before him, there had been only one appeal, and that in that case the Judges of the Superior Court were unanimous in affirming his decision ; and he went on to say, " I declare and speak the sentiments of all who hear me, and, I am assured and convinced, of all who may read my words, when I say that the duties of your office have been discharged with dignity and honour, courtesy and firmness, and with an amount of patience, zeal, and ability without a parallel in the experience of any of us."

* Nor in his new sphere of action in East Kent was Sir George less eminently successful. On his succeeding to the baronetcy in 1883, the Mayors, Chairmen of Local Boards, Registrars and solicitors residing or practising in every county court within that circuit, presented him with a beautifully illuminated address, in which they unanimously expressed their hope that he might not, by his change of position, " be led to sever his official connection with the district he had presided over with such judgment and ability, and with such satisfection to the suitors and those practising in his courts," this being a compliment unexampled, it is believed, in the history of county courts.

* In 1885 Sir George was returned for the Eastern Division

298 Swallowfield and its Owners '

I

of his county by the large majority of i ,648 votes ; and in the memorable General Election of 1886 he was again returned, this time without a contest.

*On his taking his seat in 1885, he received from the Speaker (Peel) the honour (which was renewed in the Parlia- ment of 1886) of being named one of the Court of Referees.

* The extraordinary development of obstruction during recent sessions has led members of the Conservative party, other than those on the Front Bench, to impose on themselves, for the most part, a self-denying ordinance of silence ; but on the rare occasions on which Sir George has felt it to be his duty to address the House he has met with a cordial reception, and has made his mark in debate.

* As a platform speaker he must be well known to many, who will not fail to recall his earnest eloquence, his fearlessness, his own strong conviction carrying conviction to those who hear him, his quickness in turning hostile interruptions to the dis- comfiture of his interrupter, his felicity of illustration, and his play of wit.

* Such is a portrait, far too much in outline, of the Member for East Berkshire as a public man. Of the qualities which in private life endear Sir George Russell to his many warm and enthusiastic friends it is more difficult for one of those friends to speak. A frill delineation might, to those who do not know him, wear the semblance of flattery ; while to those who do, anything less would impair the fidelity of the picture. The limits of space allotted to this sketch forbid, in any case, the former alternative, and we must be satisfied therefore with doing but scant justice to our subject in this aspect of his character.

* Among the more salient traits are a quick and original fancy, a keen sense of humour, ready repartee, an inexhaustible

Sir Charles Russell and Sir George Russell 299

fund of anecdote, and a wit which, like summer lightning, irradiates but does not wound. To these characteristics, which have rendered him a social power, he adds a singularly affectionate nature ; a courtesy and charm of manner daily growing rarer in our times ; an unaffected and spontaneous geniality which makes all who are brought within its influence feel at home with him at once ; and an unsparing readiness to devote time, energy, and resources to the service of every one who has, or thinks he has, a claim of friendship or dependency upon his good offices.

* With such a record, and with such gifts of mind and disposi- tion, it is no matter of surprise that he should have been again chosen one of the representatives of the county where his name is a household word, and that by such a majority as will render any future assault upon his seat more than ever in the nature of a forlorn hope.^

* Sir George is Deputy Lieutenant for Berks, and a Governor of Wellington College. He has recently been appointed Chairman of the South Eastern Railway Company, and has expressed his confidence of being able to improve the affairs of that company to the advantage of shareholders and public alike. He was the principal speaker at an important meeting of the company called recently, and the " Financial News," in a leading article, thus alluded to Sir George's speech on the occasion : " The burden of the Board's defence fell upon the shoulders of Sir George Russell, and it is not too much to say that a more able or con- vincing speech has seldom, if ever, been delivered at a City meeting. It bristled with effective points. Sir George is at all times one of those rare speakers who combine with great

^ In 1892 Sir George Russell was returned with a majority of 2,243, ^uid in 1895 ^^ ^as returned unopposed.

300 Swallowfield and its Owners

debating skill a singular charm of lucidity, but yesterday he was more than ordinarily felicitous. In a speech of an hour's duration he riveted the attention of his audience, and so successfully did he demolish the allegations in the circular, and riddle that injudicious document through and through, that * even the ranks of Tuscany could scarce forbear to cheer.' " '

SIR QEOROE RUSSELL. FOURTH f

301

CHAPTER XXXII

REMINISCENCES OF SIR GEORGE RUSSELL

In 1858 Sir George Russell went to America, armed with letters of introduction from Charles Kingsley and others. Consequently, during his stay at Boston, he made the acquaintance of many eminent men, including Dana, Emerson, Hawthorne, Longfellow, Russell Lowell,^ Motley, Prescott, and Oliver Wendell Holmes. From all he rieceived the greatest kindness and civility, arid with one or two of them he became most intimate. His letters of that date speak of breakfast parties with Fields,^ dinners (these generally took place at 2 o'clock) with Appleton,^ and tea-parties with Felton, at all of which he met some of the literary lights of the Athens of America. Many were the racy stories Sir George brought back with him, but I will not give them here for fear they are now well known. One, however, which I do not remember to have ever seen in print, I cannot resist repeating. Sir George was discussing the distinctiveness of the intonation of the Old and New Country with Wendell Holmes, whom he thought * one of the pleasantest and most humorous of men.*

^ James Russell Lowell claimed Sir George as a kinsman, Mr. Lowell's mother having been a daughter of James Russell of Charlestown, who was grandson of Richard Russell, one of the Russells of Little Malvern, a branch of the Russells of Strensham.

^ James T. Fields, partner of George Ticknor, the great publisher.

' Thomas Gold Appleton, celebrated in Boston as a wit and raconteur.

302 Swallowfield and its Owners

The latter remarked, * You see, sir, we each speak from our leading organ : you Britishers speak from your stomach, and we Americans speak from our heads/ On leaving Boston Sir George received from Dr. Holmes a copy of his delightful book, * The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table.' Longfellow invited Sir George several times to dinner, and the latter, in describing one of these occasions, writes : * When I dined with Longfellow he gave me some Catawba wine, but stuck to claret himself, upon which I chaffed him about drinking " Devil's Elixir and Borgia wine." ^ He laughed, but went on drinking it.'

A cherished memento at Swallowfield is the portrait of Long-

* * There grows no vine

By the haunted Rhine, By Danube or Guadalquivir,

Nor on island or cape,

That bears such a grape As grows by the Beautiful River.

' Drugged is their juice

For foreign use When shipf>ed o'er the reeling Atlantic,

To rack our brains

With the fever-pains That have driven the Old World frantic.

' To the sewers and sinks

With all such drinks. And after them tumble the mixer,

For a poison malign

Is such Borgia wine, Or at best but a Devil's Elixir.

' While pure as a spring Is the wine I sing, And to praise it one needs but name it ; For Catawba wine Has need of no sign, No tavern-bush to proclaim it'

Longfellow, Catawba Wine,

Reminiscences of Sir George Russell 303

fellow, signed by himself, and given to Sir George on this occasion.

Sir George Russell, in the early part of his life, was for many years a member of the Garrick Club, and during that time became very intimate with Thackeray, Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Millais, John Leech, and other celebrities, and has left a collection of their letters, written to him, the majority being from Dickens, for whom he had the greatest admiration as well as the warmest affection, and with whom he constantly stayed at Gad's Hill.

Sir George had a never-failing fund of anecdotes about Thackeray and Dickens, and had even begun to note down some of them. Unfortunately he never had time to do more than commence this collection, but the following are amongst those that he left :

* One evening at Thackeray's house, about two years before his death, when I was talking with him and his daughters, I said, " Tell me, Thackeray, which is your own favourite amongst your own works." He said, "Tell me first which is yours." I replied " The Newcomes." Miss Thackeray expressed her preference for " Pendennis," and her sister, I think, shared her opinion. Thackeray, after a pause, said with emphasis — I give his very words — "Well, I should like to stand or fall by * Esmond.' "

*One night I was dining with Thackeray, and Hall6 the pianist was of the party. After dinner Thackeray said, " Now, Hall6, give us a tune." Hall6 sat down to the piano and struck a chord, and a terrible chord it was ! Before, however, he could give vent in words to the despair which his countenance only too clearly portrayed, Thackeray cried out " Come, come, HallA, it is a bad workman who finds fault with his tools." Halli

304 Swallowfield and its Owners

laughed, accepted the jest in good part, and illustrated the truth of the adage by making us all forget the indifference of the instrument in the marvellous skill of the master.

■

* Thackeray complaining to me of feeling ill on the day succeeding a Richmond dinner, " O tempora / '* I said, " Oh ! more ease is what I require," he rejoined.

* On expressing my regret to Thackeray that the jackals that followed their heels had been able to separate him and Dickens, I found him inflexible. " It is a quarrel, I wish it to be a quarrel, and it always will be a quarrel," he said with great warmth.

* I was being driven by Dickens in his pony carriage from the station to Gad's Hill after we had attended Thackeray's ftineral, when he expressed his great satisfaction that he and Thackeray had been reconciled before death separated them. He described their reconciliation thus : " I and another member accidentally went to the same peg in the hall of the Athenaeum to hang up our hats. I turned and found myself face to face with Thackeray I I was startled and distressed at his changed appearance, and putting out my hand said, * Thackeray, have you been ill } ' He said, * Yes, and I am still very ill.' I expressed the sympathy that I felt, and we then sat down on a settee in the hall and had a long and cordial talk as in old days, and that was the last time we ever met." I then,' writes Sir George, * expressed my regret to Dickens, as I had before done to Thackeray, that they had allowed the malice of talebearers to poison the mind of each against the other, instead of using their own direct and honest judgment. He made no reply for some moments, and I can still recall the tinkling of the pony's bells which alone broke in upon our silence. At last he exclaimed in his own emphatic way, "Well,

Reminiscences of Sir George Russell 305

I am bound to say nothing ever took place between Thackeray and me face to face which was not to his honour." During the rest of our drive to Gad's Hill he spoke much of Thackeray, with admiration of him both as a man and a writer, and was warm in praise of his last and unfinished book " Philip," which he thought promised to be among the greatest of his works.

* I first met Dickens in the year '53 or '54 in the smoking- room of the old Garrick Club in King Street, Covent Garden, of which both he and I were members. The conversation happened to turn on the law of wills, of which he showed con- siderable knowledge ; on his leaving the room I asked who he was, and was told that he was Charles Dickens. I subsequently became an intimate friend of his, and was always a welcome guest both in London and at Gad's Hill. He had a frank, genial, sailor-like manner, and a cheery, deep, melodious voice. He always looked you full in the face, and shook hands with a warm and vigorous grasp.

*As a charming companion I never knew his equal. He never appeared to lead, still less did he monopolise conversation, but had the peculiar art of drawing out the best from every- body.

* In his house was perfect comfort, but great simplicity. Everything was good without display.

* Dickens was eminently pure-minded. His books speak for themselves in this respect, and in the course of a long and intimate friendship of many years I never heard him say a word which might not have been spoken in the society of ladies.

* He loved children, and all children took to him at once. I remember a child, so shy that it would suflFer no stranger to

X

3o6 Swallowfield and its Owners

touch it, allowing him to take it on his knee and becoming speedily quite at home with him.

*He was easily moved to merriment, but had great self- command and dread of giving pain to others. In an annual cricket match at Gad's Hill between the servants and house- hold on one side and the residue of the parish on the other, the gardener and coachman, who constituted the hope of Gad's Hill, charged each other violently whilst running, and were both stumped out before they could recover their legs, much less their wickets. The scene was to me irresistibly comic and caused much general laughter, in which, however, I noticed that Dickens did not join. " Well," he said to me afterwards, " it was very fiinny, but my sense of the ridiculous was merged in my sympathy for their mortification and disappointment."

* Unlike Thackeray, Dickens was not a great admirer of Fielding. " Tom Jones is always in tears and rouses my contempt," he said, " and excepting Blifil, there is not an original character in the book."

* I heard Thackeray speak disparagingly of Walter Scott, and even contemptuously of his heroic, as distinguished from his love novels. Dickens, on the contrary, after criticising the undue length of his descriptions as " too constantly interrupting the thread of his narrative," added " but after all, who is there like him ? "

* I asked Dickens which he regarded as the greatest work of prose fiction. "Without doubt *Don Quixote,'" he said, " and * Gil Bias ' would have been if * Don Quixote ' had never been written."

* Dickens told me he considered Forster's * Life of Goldsmith *

Reminiscences of Sir George Russell 307

" the best biography in the language, excepting always the un- rivalled work of Boswell." Dickens was unconscious of the vanity of Forster, which marred his 'Life of Dickens.' He could not pretend in his * Life of Goldsmith ' that he had influenced the plot or moulded the characters in * The Vicar of Wakefield/

* I asked Charles Dickens, about a year before his death, which of his books he considered the best. " Unquestionably * David Copperfield,' " he replied.

'Dickens had a profound admiration for John Leech as a ' caricaturist, as well as a strong affection for him as a man. I remember talking with him of John Leech as we walked up the staircase of Gad's Hill, the walls of which were hung with engravings from Hogarth's pictures. Dickens contrasted the two. He said Hogarth had many imitators, but Leech founded a new school and showed that the art of the caricaturist was not inconsistent with purity and tenderness of treatment. Leech, he said, was never unkind, and so his caricatures were seen often on the tables of those whom he satirised the most. Leech, too, he thought, was truer to life than even Hogarth. " See there," he said, pointing to a well-known engraving on the wall. *' Why, the industrious apprentice would have been ten times as frightened if the cat had come down his chimney ; this fellow passed his days and nights in scenes of riot, row, and confusion. It was nothing to him."

* I asked the Bishop of Oxford (Wilberforce), himself an orator of the first class, whom he regarded as the best speaker he had heard. He replied "For an after-dinner speech I should put Charles Dickens first, and Lord Chelmsford (the Lord Chan- cellor) second. As a parliamentary orator, I should give the palm to Lord Derby." '

X 3

3o8 Swallawjield and its Owners

After Charles Dickens's death, Miss Hogarth, his sister-in-law, who had the charge under his will of distributing the ' familiar objects,* as she called them, in his room, sent his revolver to Sir Chaiies Russell, and his case of pistols, which he always kept in his bedroom, to Sir George, with a letter saying : * We all thought of you two as being among those who most truly loved and appreciated him, and indeed he had a most sincere affection for both of you/

Charles Dickens's dog ^Bumble* was also given to Sir Charles, with whom it remained for many years, prized and petted by Swallowfield and its owners.

309

CHAPTER XXXIIl

SOME CELEBRITIES IN OUR PARISH

A HISTORY of Swallowfield would be incomplete if it did not make some allusion to some notable inhabitants of the parish.

Amongst earlier owners of land in the parish of Swallowfield may be mentioned John Blagrave, who was, says Anthony k Wood,^ * esteemed the flower of mathematicians of his age.' He was the second son of John Blagrave of Bulmarsh, near Reading, by Anne, daughter of Sir Anthony Hungerford of Downe-Ampney, Gloucestershire, and widow of William Gray.^ John Blagrave died in 1 6 1 1 at Southcot Lodge, near Reading, which he leased in 1591 from his eldest brother Anthony, and left in his will a messuage or mansion-house as well as land in Swallowfield to Joseph Blagrave, who was * a great enthusiast in astrological studies.'

John Blagrave was buried in the church of St. Lawrence in Reading. His bust is there, and under it the following inscrip^ tion : * Johannes Blagravius, totus mathematicus, cum matre sepultus. Obiit 9 Aug. 1 6 11 .

^ See Athena Oxonienses.

^ This William Gray, who represented Reading in Parliament in 1 547, was a famous ballad- writer. Puttenham, in his Arte of English Poesie^ 1589, lib. i. ch. viii., alludes to Gray as having 'grown into good estimation with King Henry VIII. and afterwards with the Protector Duke of Somerset,' and we find that in 1546 Henry VIII. bestowed on him various tenements and lands in Reading which had belonged to the Abbey there, as well as the manor of Bulmershe or Bulmarsh.

310 Swallowfield and its Owners

Here lies his corps, which living had a spirit, Wherein much worthy knowledge did inherit, By which with zeal, one God he did adore. Left for maid-servants and to feed the poor. His virtuous mother came of worthy race, A Hungerford, and buried near this place. When God sent death their lives away to call, They liv'd belov'd, and died bewail'd by all.'

We can also claim William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, as an owner of land in Swallowfield. His father, William Laud, a native of Wokingham, was a clothier in Reading, and his mother was Lucy, daughter of John Webbe of Wokingham, and sister of Sir William Webbe, Lord Mayor of London in 1 59 1. The Archbishop was born in Reading (1573) and educated at Reading Schocd, and settled upon the corporation of that town the rents of certain lands in Bray, Cookham, Winkfield, Maidenhead, and Windsor, which he * bought of Sir John Blagrave of Southcote, Dame Magdalen his wife, Susan, Magdalen, and Jane Blagrave, their daughters.* His father left him, after his mother's decease (which took place in i 6cxd), two houses in Swallowfield.

But the one personage whose name is most associated with Swallowfield and its owners was Mary Russell Mitford, the authoress, who was an intimate friend of Lady Russell and her femily for more than thirty-four years.

Miss Mitford spent almost all her life in the immediate neighbourhood, and her last four years in Swallowfield itself, where she died and was buried. Owing to this circumstance, and her great intimacy with the Russells of Swallowfield, added to her second name being Russell, it is generally supposed that Miss Mitford was a relation of that family, but this was not the case. She got her name of Russell from her mother, who

Some Celebrities in our Parish 311

was a daughter of Dr. Richard Russell, rector and vicar of Overton and Ash in Herts, a member of the Bedford family.^ Miss Mitford's father was a cadet of the family of Mitford of Bertram^ Castle, Nonhumberland, and her grandmother was a Graham of the Netherby clan.

She was born in 1787 at Alresford, in Hants, where her fether settled as a physician. But the latter, who was a recklessly extravagant man and a gambler, soon ran through all his wife's fortune, and became involved in difficulties. The family then moved to the Surrey side of Blackfriars Bridge ; and either at this time or earlier he became assistant to the celebrated quack Dr. Graham, when the beautiful Emma Lyon® posed as the Goddess of Hygiene.

Soon after he was extricated from his difficulties by the extraordinary piece of luck of his little daughter drawing a ^20,000 prize in a lottery. She was only ten years old at the time, but insisted with great pertinacity on taking the number 2,224,* attending which there was considerable difficulty, that particular number having been divided into shares. The Mitfords now settled in Reading, on the London Road, leaving their daughter at a school in London, No. 22 Hans Place, which

^ Mrs. Mitford, in letters to her daughter, alludes to her ancestor Lord Russell, to her cousins Lords William and Charles Russell, and to her being in mourning for the Duke of Bedford.

' Miss Mitford was very indignant with James Smith for giving the name of •Mitford' to a fireman in Rejected Addresses^ and writes: *If there was one thing in which I took a pride, it was in that respectable old name of mine. It was such a comfort to be neither Short nor Long, nor White, nor Brown, nor Green, nor Black, to have nothing to do with Jackson, Robson, Dobson, or Gilbertson — to appertain, in short, to the genteel &mily of the * fords,' and carry the mark of Domesday Book upon one's very tickets.'

' Emma Lyon, afterwards Lady Hamilton, is entered in the baptismal register of Neston as * £my, daughter of Henry Lyon, smith of Nesse, by Mary his wife, baptized May 12, 1765.'

^ The child said, ' This is my birtHday, and I am ten years old. Cast up my number, and you'll find that makes ten ; ' and so Dr. Mitford, by paying a little extra, managed to secure the desired ticket

3 1 2 Swallowfield and its Owners

was kept by some French Anigris of good femily, M. and Mme. St. Quintin.* Two or three years after Dr. Mitford bought a small estate at Graseley, near Reading, and about four miles from Swallowfield. He pulled * down a picturesque fermhousc which had formerly been a manor-house called Graseley Court, and built a new house, which he called * Bertram House,' and there he and his family remained fifteen years ; but Dr. Mitford's extravagances and gambling speculations gradually reduced them again to a penniless condition, and in March 1820 they moved to Three-mile Cross, a village three miles from Reading and three miles from Swallowfield, which Miss Mitford has immortalised in *Our Village.' Their new residence was literaUy a cottage in the village street, with a public-house' on one side, on the other a village shop, and opposite a cobbler's stall. Here Miss Mitford lived for thirty years, and from the first made the best of her altered circumstances, rejoicing she was a mile nearer * dear Mrs. Dickinson,' ^ and * three good miles from Reading.' Before she had been there three months, we find her writing : * I have grown exceedingly fond of this little place ; I love it of all things — have taken root completely — could be contented to live and die here.'

She did not die there, but her mother and father did, and are both buried at Shinfield.

In 1 85 1 Miss Mitford moved to a cottage in Swallowfield.

' Assisted by Miss Rowden. Amongst the pupils was ' L. £. L./ Miss Landon.

* Apropos of this public-house, *The Swan/ Miss Mitford wntes in April 1821 : * The Duke of Wellington's sons (the late Duke and Lord Charles) are at home for the Eton holidays, and they come every day to a little alehouse next door to take lessons in French of a Jew who is lodging there purposely to teach them. " The poor little lads, ma'am," said my neighbour, the landlord, " are kept very strict, and there they sit in my parlour from eleven till half-past four." '

* Wife of Charles Dickinson, Esq., of Farley Court, two miles from Swallowfield. She was mother of the late Mrs. Elliot of Farley Court, the authoress of TMe Idle Woman in Italy ^ Old Court Ufe in France^ and numerous other works. Her only surviving daughter is the present Marchesa Chigi.

Some Celebrities in our Parish 313

She thus describes her flitting : ^ I walked from one cottage to the other on an autumn evening when the vagrant birds, whose habit of assembling there for their annual departure gives, I suppose, its name of Swallowfield to the village,^ were circling over my head, and I repeated to myself the pathetic lines of Hayley, as he saw those same birds gathering upon his roof during his last illness : —

* Ye gentle birds, that perch aloof, And smooth your pinions on my roof, Prepare for your departure hence. Ere winter's angry threats commence ; Like you, my soul would smooth her plume For longer flights beyond the tomb.

' May God, by whom is seen and heard Departing men and wandering bird, In mercy mark us for His own. And guide us to the land unknown ! '

During the four years she lived at Swallowfield, the intimacy with the Russells became still closer, and latterly there was seldom a day in which Lady Russell ^ did not visit her.

In 1 854 Miss Mitford was very ill, and she writes : * Mr. May (the doctor from Reading) forbids all but Lady Russell.' The end of that year she was again very ill, and on January 8, 1855, Miss Mitford wrote her last letter to Hugh Pearson,^ asking him to come and see her on the 20th or 27th, saying, if he

' * Swalewe,* Saxon for * swallow.' (Bosworth.) ' Marie Clotilde, widow of Sir Henry Russell, second baronet. * Hugh Pearson, Vicar of Sonning and Canon of Windsor, of whom Miss Mitford wrote, *■ I have found the greatest comfort in a most dear friend, Hugh Pearson of Sonning. He is, of all men I have ever known, the nearest to perfection in heart and mind ; the chosen friend of great authors, though not an author himself, but the complete, finished, accomplished man of letters, full of exquisite taste.'

314 Swallowfield and its Owners

wished for another cheerful evening with his old friend, ^ there is no time to be lost.'

Two days later she had passed away ; Lady Russell had been with her during the whole day, and at 5 o'clock in the afternoon, as she was holding her hand, saw her expire so peacefully that she hardly knew which moment was her last. Her funeral took place on January 18, and she was buried in a spot in Swallow- field Churchyard chosen by herself, where a granite cross was erected to her memory by the contributions of a few of her oldest friends. Her grave is often visited, more by Americans than any one else.

A greater literary light than Miss Mitford, namely Charles Kingsley, was for some time resident in the parish of Swallowfield, having rented Farley Court, Eversley itself being only four miles from Swallowfield. He was a dear friend of the Russell family, with whom he kept up constant intercourse till his death in 1875.

With regard to these two notable inhabitants of Swallowfield parish, the following seems apropos. It is a letter of Kingsley's describing Miss Mitford. He says : * I can never forget the little figure rolled up in two chairs in the little Swallowfield room, packed round with books up to the ceiling, on to the floor — the little figure with clothes on, of course, but of no recognised or recognisable pattern ; and somewhere out of the upper end of the heap, gleaming under a great deep globular brow, two such eyes as I never, perhaps, saw in any other English woman — though I believe she must have had French blood in her veins to breed such eyes, and such a tongue, for the beautiful speech which came out of that ugly (it was that) face, and the glitter and depth, too, of the eyes like live coals — perfectly honest the while, both lips and eyes — these seemed to me to be attributes of the highest French — or rather Gallic — not of the highest English woman.

3i6 Swallowjield and its Owners

CHAPTER XXXIV

SOME OLD CUSTOMS AND ANTIQUITIES OF SWALLOWFIELD

In the early part of this work the church at Swallowfield has been more or less described, but perhaps the following additional items may be of some local interest.

The bells of the church, which were formerly seven in number, consist now of five. Nos. i and 2 are dated 1660. No. 3, 1 77 1, John Hewett, churchwarden ; Pack and Chapman of London y^«/. No. 4, tenor bell, John Simonds and Thomas Hewett, churchwardens ; John Warner of London ^aV 1788.

There are four old pieces of church plate, but only one can claim any intrinsic value, a silver-gilt ciborium, of Renaissance style, not of an ecclesiastical pattern, its history unknown. The others are a dish of silver left to the church in 1652 by Flower, Lady Backhouse ; a silver flagon left by William Bishopp in 1660 ; and a small plated ciborium.

In an old oak chest which is in the west end of the church is a black-letter volume of Fox's * Book of Martyrs ' with the following inscription : * Thise booke is given to Swollowfeelde Church in Barkeshire the loth of Aprill, 1636, by John Branch, Cittison and Stashoner of London.' ^ Sir John Branch was Lord

' Since writing the above, owing to the kindness of Mr. Hammond Riddett, of Ryde, Isle of Wight, a large illustrated black-letter Bible, published in 161 3, formerly in the church at Swallowfield, has been returned to the vicar. It has square brass comers with bosses, and is almost the facsimile, as regards size, shape, and binding, of the volume of Fox's Book of Martyrs, On the first page it

Old Customs and Antiquities of Swallowfield 317

Mayor of London, and probably had some connection with Swallowfield, Several of the name were buried at St. Mary's Church, Reading, in the 1 7th century. A parchment written in black letter temp. Elizabeth was found in this book. It appears to relate to the transfer of certain fish-ponds to the Bishop of London. The name appears in it of ^ magistri Edward Grigg, in vico vulgariter nuncupato Paternoster Rowe.*

Above the old chest is hung a board with a list of the * benefac- tions ' to the parish. They are as follows : * Imprimis the " Poors house " and land situate on the south-east side of Part Lane at two pounds and fifteen shillings per annum payable out of the estate heretofore of Hugh Meers, gent., and now of Robert Hanson, adjoining to Troul's lane. And ten shillings per annum payable out of the estate heretofore of Henry Hide, gent., and now of Mrs. Mary Mechin, situate near the clay-hill between the common called Spencer's Wood and the way leading to White's Green and Kingsbridge.^ Also ten shillings per annum out of the estate heretofore of Henry Sharp, gent., and now of the Earl of Dart- mouth (situate on the north side of the lane leading from Swallowfield to the green called Magg Green), called Dunning's Hole. Also ten shillings payable of the estate heretofore of Thomas Lane, gent., and now of Mrs. Fletcher, near to the north side of the said lane, all which and four several sums of ten shillings is yearly at Easter to be laid out on forty ells of

has the name Elizabeth Backhouse written in a good hand. This must have been the wife of Samuel Backhouse who bought Swallowfield in 1582. She was the daughter of John Borlace, and died in 1630. Possibly she took possession of the Bible during the troublous times of the Commonwealth. Afterwards it seems to have found its way into the hands of one Richard Goodchild, of Finchampstead, whose family have scribbled their names on its pages in numerous places chiefly, apparently, in the year 1752. It was ultimately left to Mr. Riddett by a client of his. Swallowfield is stamped on the outside, as also are the letters E.S. and I.C.

* Kingsbridge belongs to the Roupell family, who have since changed the name to Loddon Court. .

3i8 Swallowfield and its Owners

canvas and with the above 2/. 1 55. to be given to such of the poor of this parish as by the churchwardens for the time shall be thought to have most need of the same. This board was erected mdcclxxxii. by Thomas Lyford and John Naish, church- wardens.*

The parish registers are in good condition, and commence in the year 1539, but here and there portions, obviously cut out, have been abstracted.

During Cromwell's Protectorate, an act was passed declaring that marriage was only to be a civil contract, and was not to be performed by clergymen. Consequently, during that time we find all the marriages at Swallowfield were solemnised by James Phipps, Esq., Justice of the Peace. This James Phipps lived at Shepridge Court, he being Lord of the Manor of Little Shepridge with Garston in the parish of Swallowfield and Shinfield. He married Jane Brydges, daughter of Sir Giles Brydges, and grand- daughter of John Lord Chandos.^ Probably the most notable marriage ceremony that he performed was that of Flower, only daughter and heiress of William Backhouse of Swallowfield, to William Bishopp, of South Warnborough, which took place in August 1656.

The Churchwardens' accounts for Swallowfield, after going through great vicissitudes, still exist from the year 1 6 1 4.

A few items which I have extracted from them seem to be of more than local interest, showing, as they do, some of the ancient customs, or referring to historical events of the time.

' There were many persons of the family of Phipps in this neighbourhood. John Phipps of Swallowfield had a lawsuit in 1633 with Sir T. Vachell of Coley about purchase of land at Shinfield. John's brother, Thomas Phipps, gent., also of Swallowfield, made his will in 1636-7, and mentions Mary, wife of his brother John, Margaret, Elizabeth, and Edward, their children. They were nearly related to Sir Constantine Phipps (grandfather of the ist Lord Mulgrave), who himself was said to have been bom in Reading, and is buried at White Waltham, Berks.

Old Customs and Antiquities of Swallowfield 3 1 9

Under the first category, I note the frequent mention of money paid for * Smoak fardings,' Le. Smoke farthings. These were given to the priest at Whitsuntide, according to the number of chimneys in the parish. There was also ^ Smoke money ' for Candlemas Day (February 2nd), when it was customary to carry a light. In Bishop Bonner's Injunction, a.d. 1555, we read

* that baryng of candles on Candlemasse Daie is doone in the memory of our Savior Jesu Christe, the spirituall lyht, of whom Sainct Symeon dyd prophecie as it is redde in the churche that daie.* It was also the custom here in ancient days for women, when they were churched, to carry a light.

Amongst the payments of the 17th century are some to

* poore Irishe people which had a passe,' to * an irishe woman which had the King's authoritie,* to * Irishe people which had the Kinge's brod seale.' To walking women w** weare carryed from Tything to Tything by passe,' and even to ^ Souldiers which had a passe,' and constantly to persons with ^ briefs.' These last were Royal Letters Patent from the Court of Chancery and gave the holders permission to beg for pecuniary assistance at any parish church. This custom seems to have been an aggravated form of the modern church collection.^ Pepys in his Diary writes on June 30, 1 661: * Lord's Day. To church, where we observe the trade of briefs is come now up to so constant a course every Sunday that we resolve to give no more to them.' The briefs were not confined to English subjects. Thus we find the Swallow- field congregations asked to give to * two femilies that came out of New England,' ^ for the French Protestants,' and to one * John

' In Burn's Ecclesiastical Law, under the head of Briefs, we find that the ministers, in two months after receipt, shall on some Simday, immediately before sermon, openly read them to the congregation, then the churchwardens and chapel- wardens shall collect the money that shall be freely given either in the assembly, or by going from house to house, as the briefe require.* They were entirely abolished in 1828.

320 Swallowfield and its Owners

Savage that had authority to gather money throughout the king- dom for one whole yeare towards the reliefe of a towne burnt on the borders of Ireland, where many people were burnt and many utterly undone/

In the accounts for 1679 and 1680, we find the following item : * Spent upon the Ringers when his Majesty was at Swal- lowfield, I ij. 8^.' This tells us that King Charles 11. must have paid a visit to Lord Clarendon at this time.

In 1685, we find the Ringers on James II.'s Coronation Day were, paid 1 5^., and on the day the King was proclaimed 2J. In 1688 money was paid for a Proclamation and Book of Thanks- giving for the Queen's being with child.^ Later on in the same year there were payments for another Proclamation and Book of Thanksgiving for the birth of the young prince (James Francis Edward, the * Old Chevalier '), which took place at St. James's Palace on Trinity Sunday, June 10, and a little later again we find payment for an order of Prayer for the young Prince.^

In most years there is mention of the payments for the Ringers on May 29 (the Restoration) and on November 5, and in 1698 and 1699 the Ringers were also paid on November 4 as well as on the 5th. In the early part of Queen Anne's reign,

^ * This was announced,' says Miss Strickland, ' by royal proclamation and in the Gazette of December 23, with an order for a day of general thanksgiving. The King commanded the Bishops to prepare a suitable form of prayer and thanks- giving for the occasion to be read in every church throughout England on the 29th of that month. Nothing was said implying hopes of male issue, as was afterwards pretended, but simply that the Queen might become a joyful mother of children ; that God would command His holy angels to watch over her, and defend her from all dangers and evil accidents ; that the King might behold his children's children, and peace upon Israel ; and that his gracious consort. Queen Mary, might be as a fruitful vine upon the walls of his house, and his children like the olive branches round about his table.'

" The young prince was very delicate for the first two months of his life, but no wonder when we read that the poor infant was never given any milk, but was fed on water-gruel made of barley-flour, to which a few currants were added !

Old Customs and Antiquities of Swallowfield 321

the Ringers of Swallowfield were often called into requisition. We find mention of payments to them on her birthday, for her Pro- clamation and her Coronation, as well as many Thanksgiving days. These last were probably for our victories abroad, one being speci- fied, * for ye taking of Lille.' ^ Possibly the fact of Swallowfield being occupied at this time by Lord Clarendon, Queen Anne's uncle, may have stimulated the activity of the bell-ringers. After that we find no mention of payment to the bell-ringers till 1762, when there is one * for taking the Havannah,' ^ and in 1820 * for toUmg the bell for his Majesty George IIL'

In 161 5 and 161 6, in the churchwardens' accounts, is mention of payments by * Father Laud.* Can that be intended for William Laud (afterwards archbishop) } We know his father had left him two houses in Swallowfield, to which he succeeded at the death of his mother in 161 6, and there is no mention of this name in the parish registers.

In 1 64 1 we find an entry for * fillyng of a Runlett of Muscadyn con: viij gall:, xxxvij". iiij**.' This was muscadel or muscadine, a rich sort of wine used for the ancient custom of drinking in church at marriages. Pieces of cake or wafers were dipped in the wine and given round after the ceremony. They were called * sops,' and gave the name to the flower called ^ sops- in-wine.' In the * Taming of the Shrew,' Petruchio, having quaflTed the muscadel, throws the sops in the sexton's face. And in Armin's * History of the Two Maids of Moreclacke,' 1 609, the serving-man says ^ The muscadine stays for the bride at church.' This wine was also probably used for the Holy Communion.

From 1760 to 1835 we find constant charges for * catching

^ Lille, taken by Marlborough and Prince Eugene, after a siege which lasted from August 12 till December 8, 1708.

' Havannah, capital of Cuba, taken by Lord Albemarle August 14, 1762*

322 Swallowfield and its Owners

of sparrows ' and * sparrow heads,* and the wonder is that, with this wholesale destruction of thousands, the species did not become quite extinct. The price given by the churchwardens was 3^/. per dozen from Easter to Christmas, and f>d. per dozen from Christmas to Easter. One man alone received a payment of 3/. 6j. In April 1835 there is an entry in the accounts to this effect : * Resolved, in consequence of the adjoining parish having discontinued to pay for killing sparrows, the churchwardens of this parish are ordered to discontinue to pay for the same.'

Another item in the accounts, commencing in 1838 and continuing till 1865, is * for keeping the churchyard quiet during Divine Service,' to which sometimes is added * and minding of the boys.' The payment for this duty was 6^. a Sunday.

There are a good many charges for journeys of the Perpetual Curate, churchwardens, and apparitors, sometimes to Sarum and elsewhere, and often to Hurst. Thus we find in 161 6 Johnc Peether, the churchwarden, making a charge for when he * Rode to Lyttellcote at Welleses complynt xviiij. d & 6 \sic\^ In 1690 the Reverend Caswell went to Hurst * * to return a warrant con- cerning the Papistes and Popish Recusants.' In 1740 Mr. Goswell, the curate, and a churchwarden went * to Mr. Sinjohns (St. John) of Finchamsted and to Mr. Reeves of Arborfield for Jostis ^ for our Liberty of Wilts.'

Amongst the various entries in the churchwardens' accounts are the following : In 1638 *ashovell tree for the church.' In 1676 * For mending the King's armes in the church,' and the same year an item * For Tymber and workmanshipp to make a frame for the Sauce bell,^ a bell rope and lyning of him.' In

* The General Quarter Sessions for the County of Berks were sometimes held at Hurst by adjournment. * Justice.

* Sauce, also written Saunce, is a corruption of Saint*s-be]l, a small bell which called to prayers and other holy offices (Nares's Glossary),

Old Customs and Antiquities of Swallowjield 323

1 69 1 * For a post and groundsell to the church-gate.' ^ In 1697

* for a Dial and hour-glasse and frame.' (The dial still remains, but, alas ! not so the hour-glass.) In 1695 there were items for

* a book against swearing,' and * a paper of the Lawful marriages.' In 1 64 1 there were constant payments to * Jo Burgis his Ignorant ' (perhaps this may be what is now called here * afflicted,' ue. an idiot). Then, in 1688, Widow Savin,^ who was the village mid- wife and nurse, had sundry payments, ^For Bailey's* girle,' and for * EUisebeth's baby,' and for * hireing Mary's baby out.' Also Thomas May, the overseer for the poor in this year, charges for * a shifte and an apron and a pair of bodees for Elizabeth's baby ' and also for * making a pare of indenters for Mary's baby.' This at first one would think was also an article of clothing, but I believe it to be quite another sort of article, namely, indentures ! In 1 69 1, we find the churchwardens paying * for the weaving of Parfoot's Linsey Wolsey.' ^ Also * Parfoot's maid her wages 2/.' This Parfoot is the same who appears in the accounts previously as Noah Perfect and sometimes as Noy Perfit. We find him employed about all church repairs from the year 1670, and probably now he was being pensioned off.

I shall not attempt to mention all the names given in the

^ Nares gives ' groundsill the threshold, and quotes : * The time the groundsils of grreat Troy were layd' (Hey wood), so that * groundsell' probably meant the foundation.

' For a further allusion to this dame, see page 339, footnote 4.

' Linsey-woolsey, a stuff made of linen and wool, said to be so called from having been first made at Linsey in Suffolk. Skelton, the poet laureate in the time of Henry VII L, in a satire against Cardinal Wolsey, talks of *a webb of lynse wulse,' and in Hudibras we find

* A lawless linsey- wolsey brother. Half of one order, half another.'

Pope also, in the i)uHaad, talks of ' pyebald linsey-woolsey brothers.' In the middle of the century just expired the name was applied to a fashionable woollen fabric for ladies' dresses.

y 2

324 Swallowfield and its Owners

churchwardens' accounts, still less those in the parish registers, but I have been through them, and have made a selection, which I here append, of those that are most representative, and those that appear to me to be uncommon. Instock we find here often in the i6th and 17th centuries, this name being also entered as Insock, Enstocke, and Anstock. Bostock and Holdstock ; MieUe,^ corrupted later into Meall, also Milleisse ; ^ Louche and Loucche ; Mychynes,^ now corrupted to Minchin ; Rumbeller,* afterwards Rumble. Gellbard, which appears during many years, is also entered as Gilbard, and vdtimately turns into Gilbert. Leano, also Lanoe ; * Mapelbeck, Dollery, G^wdery and Cordery,^ Jacques and Jerome (the latter, which is often found in Chaucer, was from St. Jerome), Wix and Wickes.^ Atto, Hatto, and Hatt.® Holys, Magick, Dragot,^ Tocock,

> Probably the same as Mihel or Mihil, which Nares says was for a long time the current and familiar pronunciation of Michael St. Michel on the Meuse is still called St MiheL

* Milleisse is probably the same as the present Melliss, a name lately promi- nently brought forward as being that of the gallant Indian Staff Corps captain who was the last officer who received the Victoria Cross at the hsmds of Queen Victoria.

' Mychynes may be a corruption of Meschines.

* From Roombelow, a cant name for a woman of bad character.

* From Lannoy, an old Huguenot family, members of which settled near here.

* Pad worth Manor was at an early period in the family of Coudray (Esch. Hen. III.}. There is a curious story in Blount's Tenures^ quoted by Lysons, which states that Peter Corderie, who held it before 1 51S, did so by the service of finding a sailor to manage the ropes of the Queen's vessel whenever she should pass over into Normandy. Hence, it is said, the name, from Corde du roy 1 In the list of Knights of Berks, temp, £d. I., the name of Sir Thomas Cowdrey appears, and his arms arc given, * Goulis belett^ d'or.*

^ Wix, perhaps same as Wykes. A Csimily of this name was seated at Kynges- ton, Berkshire, in 1566.

' Hatt, said to be the oldest surname on record. Although the custom of using surnames was not established till after the Norman Conquest, Turner, in his History of the Anglo-Saxons^ quotes a document from the Cottonian MS. (Tib. B. 6) which has every appearance of being earlier than that event ; in it we find an Anglo-Saxon family with unquestionably a regular surname, a little sort of pedigree of the family being given, and their name was Hatt.

* Dragot, said to be from the Slavonic, and was a name of affection.

Old Customs and Antiquities of Swallowfield 325

Pocock, Hiscock and Hancock, Eed, Hedd, Pate/ Body,^ Shylor and Shiler, Povy, Stacey, Samson,^ Sansum and Hansum, Fry and Infry, Bunce, Tulle and Tull, Wobly, Silito,^ Glasspool, Elween ; Peether and Pethor, now Pirher ; Homer, Cesar,* Alexander and Titus, Elisha, Jarius,^ Luther,^ Ferebee,^ Beavis, or Bevis,^ Springett, Heavens, Blazey,^^ MascaU,^^ Cottrell,^^ Hawtrell, Cantrell, Cracknell, Hammell, Instrell, Crucher ^^ and Critcher, Tiggol,i* Pinfield,i* Gobil, Chew, Bushell and Peck,i« Cartham and Southam, Points, Rhymes, Wragg,^' Knap, Knock

* Pate, meaning head, occurs in the Prayer-book version of the Psalms (Ps. vii. V. 7).

' Body occurs at an early date in Berks.

' Samson is the real name of our well-known actor George Alexander, whose father was settled in Reading. The arms of Sampson of Burfield were entered in 1623.

^ Can this be a corruption of 'stiletto,' ue, the small stylus with which the ancients wrote upon wax tablets ?

* Sir Julius Caesar twice represented the borough of New Windsor temp. Queen Elizabeth. In the * Carta militum feofatorum de Honore de Warengeford ' from the Liber Niger Scaccarii, the next record in antiquity to the Norman Survey, the name Richardus de Ceaseza appears.

' Jarius may be a contraction of Januarius. In the time of the Romans the name was given to many who were bom in January.

^ Luther was anciently used as an adjective meaning * wicked ;' sec Chaucer. Lothere was one of the kings of Kent.

* In Domesday we have Federbi. The name Ferrebee is still here.

* Bevis of Southampton, a famous knight of romance. See Drayton*s Poly- olbioHy and Shakespeare's Henry VIIL

*® Blazey, probably from St. Blaise. ^^ Perhaps an abbreviation of Mareschall.

" Cottrell, according to Grose, * a trammel for hanging an iron pot over the fire.* " Nathaniel Croocher was a Fellow of St. John's, Oxford, in 1616. ^* Tyghall is in the Visit, of Berks, 1566. Tigwell, pronounced Tiggol, is still in Swallowfield. » Or Pinfold.

< Confined and pestered in this pinfold here.'

Preface to Troilus and Cressida. — Milton. *• Peck, from Pekke, which name as well as Stacy and Coterell and Holeway appear in the list of Berkshire gentry returned by the commissioners in 1433.

" Wragg Castle was the original name of Farley Castle, Swallowfield. This degenerated into Ragg Castle, hence its change of name in the beginning of this century.

326 Swallowfield and its Owners

and Knott, BufFery, Binge, Double, Lunn, Taplin, Buclcr, Diaper,* Vharst, Vrest, Veasey, Wigg, Pate, Brush,^ Beard, Holloway, Bartlett, Troul,^ Kerridge, Herridge, Ferridge, Headridge, Whitridge, Pordridge,* Buckeridge, Puckeridge, Packeridge,* Burbridge, Alldridge, and Wooldridge.^

We have King, Castle, Keep, Hall, House, Thorpe, Stead, and Bjr (or Bye), the shortest surname, which means a habitation. Also Gatthouse (Gatehouse, the prison), Malthus (the Malt- house) ; Bacus, Bacust, Bacchus, and Bagouse, all corruptions of Backhouse, which may have meant Bakehouse. We have Street, Lane, Roades, Field, Moore, Piatt (same as Plot), Whiteland, Mead, Bigmead, Bitmead, Brooks, Bywater and Atwater, Lee and Atlee, Attehawes, Wells ; Ford, Lyford, Rickford, Pickford, and Stanniford ; Holt,^ Grove, Wood, Underwood, and Wodison, Earth, Headland, and Hill ; Gold,* Goldstone, Golding, and

' Burges Diaper was churchwarden at Swallowfield in 1677. Diaper is said to be derived from the town of Ypres in Flanders (d'Ipres). In the reign of Edward III. many Flemish refugees established linen manufactures in England, Queen Philippa having been the great promoter of this emigration. Seventy families came over in 1 33 1, and some, we are told, settled in Berks. From the poem (reprinted by Halduyt) The Process of English Policy^ we know that Ypres supplied cloth as well as linen, and we know that though the staple trade and manufacture of Reading was in woollen cloth from ihe time of Edward I. until the reign of Queen Anne, at one time it sent out linen as weU.

' Brush is said to come from Ambrosius and to be the same as Ambrose.

' To troul meant to pass the bowl or drinking vessel round ; it is used in this sense by Beaumont and Fletcher. Also to put about the song in a like jovial manner {Tempest^ iii. 2). We have Trouls Lane at Swallowfield.

^ The Rev. Edw. Pordridge, D.D., Subdean of the Chapel Royal, was interred in the body of the chancel at Shinfield in 175 1.

* Packeridge, probably the same as Pokeriche, which occurs in 1354.

^ Wolryche appears in Swallowfield in 1276. It is one of the many compound names derived from the wolf.

^ Holt, Saxon for a grove or wood. John Hoult was churchwarden at Swallow- field in 1638.

' Gold was a term of endearment and expressed metaphorically what a man was made of The sunflower was also called gold by Chaucer, and in a Saxon MS. we find 'Golde' as a female name.

Old Customs and Antiquities of Swallowfield 327

Goldfrap. We have Pope, Prior, Abbott, Priest, Bishop, Dean, Church, Cross, Rood, Aves, Palmer, Christmas ; Kyle, Kermode, Quelch, Monger or Mongher, Honey, CressweU, and Caswell ; Swayne, Sweyn, and Swaine ; ^ Soane, also written Sone ; Stuard,* Seward and Siward,^ Rogers,* Allumm, Boutlewton.

We have also * a commodity of good names : ' Neville, Norrys, Capel, Seymour, Egerton, Malpas, Champneys, Marmion, Mareschal, Scales, Rivers, Lovell, Danvers, Beauchamp, and Howard (this has been turned into Hayward).

And we have plenty of place-names : London, Reading, Ludlow, Portsmouth, Marlow, Henley, Watlington, Binfield, Bedford, Warwick, Bray, Cranford, Charlton, Staines, Mattingley, Benham, Hurst, Burford, Stanford, Englefield, Pangbourne, Walworth, Feltham, Mortimer, Bradfield, Lambourne, Farn- borough, Skipton, Shipton, Shrimpton, Churchill, Sussex, Kent, Cornwall, Pembroke, Buckingham, Bridgewater, and Barkshire.

Occupation names here are as follows : Baker, Cooper,* Miller, Tailor, Turner, Draper, Scrivener and now Scrivens, Clerk, Smith, Goldsmith, Brownsmith, Woodyer, Barker, Tanner,^ Tiler, Hellier,^ Thatcher, Piper, Harper, Fidler,

^ Swayn, from Svend, the favourite name of the kings of Denmark.

' Dr. Dee, the celebrated astrologer, temp, Elizabeth, mentions in his Diary that Simeon Stuard was bom at Shinfelde on July 31, 1575, and says 'his grand- father by the mother was Dr. Huyck the Quene's physicien.' This Simeon Stuard must have been the father of Sir Nicholas Stuard, created Bart, in 1660, as they were *both of Hartley- Mauduit, Hants.'

• Siward, of Teutonic origin, means * conquest.' It is the same as Siegfried

^ Rogers. This name, which is very common here now, first appears in 1433, when we find John Rogers amongst the list of gentry returned by the commission in 12 Henry VI.

^ Baker is the first name entered in our parish register, and Cooper is the second. They both appear in 1539.

* Tanner, a witness to a lease of land in Stratfield-Turgis in 1386. ' Hellier, another name for a tiler.

328 Swallowfield and its Owners

Shepherd, Fowler, Fisher, Gardener, Fletcher, Bowyer,^ Reeve,^ Parker, Leadbeater, Wheeler, Cartwright, Carter, Hayman, Cook and Cookman, Salter, Poulter,^ Hostler (now Hosier), Chapman, Mason, Butler, Usher, Weaver, Chandler, Joyner, Pittman, Cheeseman, Hodman, Waterman, Glover, Hopper, Butcher, Por- ter, Brasiour, Girdler, Leech. To these we may add Chamberlaine, the ancient name for a servant at an inn ; Bosier * and Bowsey, from bowsier, a butler ; Catour (or Cator), from Le Achatour (N. French), one who buys food for any public establishment, and used by Chaucer in this sense, hence the word * caterer ; ' Forster, a forester ; Alcone, from ale-conner or ale-taster, which was an official appointed in each court leet to look to the goodness of bread, ale, and beer ; ^ Pargiter, a maker of parchment or a plaisterer ; and Bidle or Biddle. In 1679 and '80, John Bidle of Stanford and John Bidle of the Hack were churchwardens at Swallowfield. Le Bedel signified * the beadle.' John le Bedel appears in the assessments for Berks in 1327.

Our names apparently from sobriquets are as follows : Small- bones and HoUobone, Barefoot,^ Halfliide, Halfliead, and Half- acre, Goodenough, Goodchild, Littlework, Pitfall, Winterborn, TuffnaiV Blunt (le Blond), Whiting, Lovelock, Lovejoy,

* Fletcher, a maker of arrows ; Bowyer, a maker of bows.

*• Her mind runs sure upon a fletcher or bowyer.'

Old Play, A Match at Midnight ' Reeve, a steward or bailiff.

' Poulter, one who sells fowls uncooked. This is the original way of spelling the word (Nares's Glossary).

^ *• And to be head Bowsier of the Colledge as good as to be chiefe butler of England,' Tom o/all Trades^ 1631.

^ In 1557 Shakespeare's father was appointed 'Ale-conner at Stratford.'

* Magnus Barfot was the name of a king of Norway ; probably means bear's foot.

^ One of the principal Fifth Monarchy men during the Rebellion was a carpenter called Tufnel.

Old Customs and Antiquities of Swallowfield 329

Lovegrove, Dearlove, Popejoy (perhaps from Popinjay), Champion, Hurlstone, Freeman, Franklin, Shurman, Wright- man, Holyman, Talman, Newman, Prettyman, Peniman, Pier- man, Wellman, Deadman, Ladyman, Bachelor, Excell, Perfect, Parfoot or Perfit, Alrighte, Savage, Wild, Wise, Flitter,^ Smart, Strong, Stout, Shorter, Round, Sharp, Long, New, Bastard, Arlotte,^ Pitcher (a pitcherman meant formerly a drunkard), Goddard,^ Currant* (a liar), Treacher^ (a traitor, hence the word * treachery '), Norman,^ Switzer and Sweetzer,^ Merril,* Dunne and Dunning,^ Pinruff and Ruffle, Reid and Rudd.^^

The animal world appears to give us Sparrowhawke^^ and Spar- hawke, turning eventually into Sparke, Sparrowbill, also entered as Sparable ; ^^ Hearn ; ^^ Chancier (contraction of Chanticleer^*). Arnold, which is one of our earliest names in the Swallowfield

^ Flitter, from Flitter-mouse, a bat Ben Jonson uses this word to designate a person.

'The old French word * arlot ' denoted a servant-girl of the lowest class.

• A kind of cup, goblet, or tankard. Stowe, speaking of Mount Goddard Street in I vie Lane, says, ^ It was so called because of the tippling there.'

^ Currant, a name for a newspaper, and the currantos or currants were so little to be trusted that the name became equivalent to that of a liar (Nares's Glossary).

* * Knaves, thieves, and treachers,* King Lear^ i. 2.

' The name Norman, which we find at Swallowfield in 1386, is still in the parish.

^ The Switzers were a Swiss guard attendant upon the king's person, alluded to by Shakespeare.

^ A game, also called Nine Men's Morris.

^ Dunne and Dunning were common Anglo-Saxon names, both of men and women, and signified brown-haired. We have a lane at Swallowfield called Dunning's Hole.

*® Rudd is probably from the old Norse * rau^r,* signifying * red.*

" Sparrowhawke dates from Anglo-Saxon times. There was a Sperhafoc elected Bishop of London in 1050, but ejected before consecration.

^* Sparrow-bills and sparables were used to designate small nails such as are put into the shoes of rustics. (See Nares's Glossary.)

'• Perhaps this name came from Heme the Hunter, * some time a keeper here in Windsor Forest * {Merry Wives of Windsor),

*^ The proper name of the cock in the famous beast-epic of the middle ages, * Reineke Fuchs.'

330 Swallowfield and its Owners

registers, is said to be Scandinavian and means an eagle. Wood- cock, Moorcock, Duck, Finch and Nightingarl (j/V), Goswell and Goseltine seem as if they might be added under this category, Blackader and Blackaller (from Blackadder), Eels, Pike, Spratt, Fox, Badger, Grice (old name for the young of the badger), Seale, Brach (a hound), Meer (a horse), Bullock, Lamb, Hogge, Ham and Bacon. We have also Sumpter, which meant a pack- horse, and Everard, which we are told derives from the wild-boar. In the vegetable line we have Budd, Flower, Moss, Thorn, Hawthorn, May, Wheat, Barley, Grist, Oates, Cherrie, Rose, Beech, Pollard, Okes, Holyok, Hazel, Cheney (from the Norman Chesney, oak), Peasid (which I think must be a cor- ruption of Peascod) ; Wyeth, now corrupted to Wither ; ^ also Savin ^ and Savine {Juniperus Saiinay Linnaeus), and Grummel (the seed of gromwell, a herb, Lithospermum).

The altars everywhere now smoaking be With beane-stalkes, savine, laurell, rosemary, Their cakes of grummell-seed they did preferre, And pailes of millce in sacrifice to her. Then hymn of praise they all devoutly sang In those Palilia for increase of young.

Browne's * Britannia's Pastorals* (Book II. Song III.). Of course the apparent meaning of a great number of these

' Wyeth, or withe, willow twigs used from the most ancient times for decorating houses and churches on Palm Sunday. Stowe, in his Survey of London^ 1603, p. 98^ tells us that in the week before Easter there were ' great shewes made for the fetching in of a twisted tree into the kinge's house, and the like unto every man's house of honor or worship.' By an Act of Common Council, i & 2 PhiL and Mary, for retrenching expenses, it was ordered ' that from henceforth there shall be no more wyth fetcht home at the Maior's or Sheriffs houses.'

'In 1688 Widow Savin was the village nurse, midwife, and apparently baby- farmer of Swallowfield. Her name was certainly a remarkable coincidence, con- sidering the properties formerly attributed to the savin tree. In 1705 Edmund Savine of Swallowfield married Elizabeth Cocksage of Shinfield.

Old Customs and Antiquities of Swallowfield 33 1

old names is a mere coincidence, and their derivation is to be otherwise explained.

Before leaving the subject of names, I must notice some proper names which we have had here of late years, of un- mistakable gipsy origin. A miller of the name of Israel Dowling had two children whose names were Bostick ^ and Zingra, the latter of course from Zingara, the city in Meso- potamia whence, by some accounts, gipsies were supposed to have been driven. We have also * Sabre Lee.' This should be Sabra, the name of the King of Egypt's fair daughter, who, we are told in ancient story, was saved from the dragon by St. George, whom she ultimately married. And we have now in our school a gipsy child who is entered and called by the name of * Cinfois French.' Her parents live in a tent and cannot read or write, so her name has only been taken down phonetically. Her mother's name was Lee. * Cinfois' does not sound like a Romany name. May it be St. Foix } Geoige Borrow says that gipsies, when they first made their appearance in England about 1480, probably came from France, where tribes of the race had long been wandering about under the names of Bohemians and Egyptians. We have had many gipsy Coopers and Smiths, the only two names of trades which apparently have been adopted by English gipsies as proper names, and of more imposing names we have had gipsy Lovells, Hearnes, Marshalls, Greys, and Boswells. Formerly we had many gipsy encampments about here, and they were specially numerous on Eversley Common. They were devoted to Charles Kingsley, whom they called their * Patrico-rai ' (Priest King), and the late Sir Charles Russell said that one of the most touching sights he had ever seen was the grief of the vast concourse of gipsies who followed him to his grave.

' Bostick, probably from Bostock, an old Berkshire name.

332 Swallowfield and its Owners

Among the most noticeable monuments in the churchyard, besides that of Miss Mitford, are the following : Immediately below the window of the Russell transept are two large flat stones; one is inscribed * Thomas Huxley, S.T.B., 1685, and Hester Holyman his sister, relict of Captain Holyman, died 1 730.* The other reads as follows : * Edward Dalby, late of Reading, ob. 1726 aet.^ 71, and Johanna his wife, daughter of John Finch.^ Over this inscription is a shield with the Dalby arms and crest.** The name of BaJcombe, which appears upon a large stone sarcophagus in the churchyard, is interesting from its association with the great Napoleon. Several of the family lived in Swallowfield and are buried here. One of these, Thomas Balcombe, was a merchant who in 1 8 1 5 had been settled for some years at St. Helena, where he owned a small place called the Briars,* picturesquely situated between Jamestown and Longwood. When Napoleon landed in October, 18 15, it was at first arranged that he should remain at Jamestown until Long- wood could be got ready. To this Napoleon objected owing to the want of privacy in the town, and passing by the Briars, he took a fancy to it, and asked if he could stay there. Mr. Bal- combe at once acceded to the request, and Napoleon accordingly lived there for two or three months, occupying a sort of little pavilion situated about twenty yards from the house in which

^ Edward Dalby was the second son of Edward Dalby, steward of Reading in 1664, by Frances, daughter of Charles Holloway of Oxford, and grandson of Thomas Dalby of Oxford. His first wife was sister to Sir Robert Sawyer, Attorney-General to King James II. By her he had no issue, but by his second wife, the above-mentioned Johanna, he had a son, John Dalby of Hurst.

' John Finch was of Feens or Fienes, near Maidenhead, which place had belonged to John de Fienes, who died in 1321.

' The Dalby arms were three bars wavy impaling a fess between three fleurs de lys in a canton dexter five ermine.

* This name was given to it from the profusion of a large sort of sweetbriar which abounded there.

Old Customs and Antiquities of Swallowfield 333

Mr. Balcombe and his family resided. The pavilion consisted of nothing but one good room on the ground floor, which Napoleon occupied, and two above, in one of which were lodged the Comte de Las Cases and his young son, and in the other some of the Emperor's servants. They were necessarily very un- comfortable, but it was Napoleon's own choice. He was greatly taken by the situation, which was a veritable oasis in a desert, the garden being profusely luxuriant with every sort of tropical fruit and flower. The Balcombes did all they could to ameliorate his hardships, and he spent much of his time with them, and particu- larly interested himself in Mr. Balcombe's children. The two girls, Jane and Elizabeth, were about fifteen and twelve years of age. They spoke French fluently, and greatly amused Napoleon by their naivet^. Accustomed as he was to see everybody quail before him, their innocent femiliarity was to him a new experience. The first time they met him they plied him with questions, and the Emperor said to Las Cases, * Nous sortons du bal masque, quand nous les edmes quitties.' ^ Betsy was his favourite, and Baron Sturmer (the Austrian Commissioner at St. Helena) wrote about her to Metternich and said that Napoleon described her as *vive, s6millante et pleine de naiveti.' When Mr. Balcombe got six months' leave of absence to go to England he was told he was no longer required as * purveyor ' to Napoleon, and never returned to the island. This was in consequence of his having broken some of the hard-and- fest regulations with regard to Napoleon. He and his daughters spent their last evening with the Emperor, and had a most aflfect- ing interview at parting. He embraced the sisters tenderly and said he should always remember their kindness, but he added,

* Journal de la Vie privie et des Conversations de PEmpereur Napolion d Sainte- HiUne^ par Ic Comte de Las Cases, tome i. p. 266, pub. Hen. Colburn, 1823.

334 Swallowfield and its Owners

* You will soon hear that the Emperor Napoleon is dead/ Betsy was in floods of tears. Napoleon wiped her tears away with his own handkerchief and told her to keep it as a remembrance of that sad day. He asked her what she would like to have as a parting present from him, and on saying that she would prefer a lock of hair to anything else, he there and then sent for Mar- chant and made him cut four locks of hair, one for each of the Balcombe family. Betsy Balcombc married a Mr. Abell and was living in London in 1867.^

Not far from the Balcombe monument, but nearer the church on the south side, are gravestones erected to the memory of the various * Fulkers,' and these have the oldest legible inscriptions in the churchyard. They take us back to the time of Lord Clarendon, the former owner of Swallowfield, for in his Diary John Fulker, his coachman, is often mentioned, so that one is not surprised to find many Flora Fulkers buried here. Suc- cessive generations would be sure to perpetuate the name of their beloved mistress Flower or Flora, Lady Clarendon. A second John, son of Lord Clarendon's servant, was for many years sexton and gravedigger at Swallowfield, and on his headstone are engraved the various implements of his occupation as well as a death's-head and cross-bones. The last of the * Flora Fulkers ' changed her name, though somewhat late in life. In 1820 she was married at Swallowfield Church to Mr. Gideon Elliot of Shinfield, she being at the time sixty-two years of age, while the bridegroom was fifty-eight, the officiating clergyman rejoicing in the name of * Goldfrap ' !

' In one of Miss Mitford's letters to Miss Barrett (Mrs. Browning) she says, ' I still wonder that Napoleon does not inspire you. Oh ! what a man ! I would have given a limb to have been in the place of Madame Rechard or even of one of the Miss Balcombes.'

Old Customs and Antiquities of Swallowfield 335

About fifty years ago there still existed, close to the church, the * Church-house,' from which every Sunday ale ^ was brought to the church for the refreshment of the musicians who took part in the service. This establishment was afterwards moved outside the Park, a little way down the road. It is now an ordinary public-house, the * George and Dragon,' but it is generally still called by the inhabitants of Swallowfield the * Church-house.' Aubrey says : * In every parish is, or was, a church-house to which belonged spitts, crocks, utensils for dressing provisions, &c. Here the housekeepers met and were merrie and gave them charitie ; the young people came there too, and had dancing, bowling, shooting at butts &c., the ancients sitting gravely by, looking on.'

We have not many old customs remaining in this parish, but amongst the few survivals we have still the Christmas Mummers. No doubt to the uninitiated their performance appears very puerile, but it is interesting when we think of its undoubtedly remote origin, and for that reason it would be a pity if it were discontinued. The origin is supposed to date from the time of the Crusaders, and many allusions to the object of their devotions and to their labours in the Holy Land are to be found in some of the various versions of the so-called Play as it is still acted in parts of England. Of course sometimes it is garbled and mutilated to such an extent that little sense remains, but the following is what the actors in Swallowfield try to portray :

^ Church-ales formerly were collected from the parishioners, and this custom dates from the earliest ages.

33^ Swallowfield and its Owners

CHARACTERS.

Father Christmas Turkish Knight

Thb Doctor St. George

The Dragon The King of Egypt

Entir The Turkish Knight.*

Open your doors and let me in,

I hope your favours I shall win ;

Whether I rise or whether I fall,

I'll do my best to please you all.

St. George is here and swears he will come in,

And, if he does, I know he'll pierce my skin.

If you will not believe what I do say.

Let Father Christmas come in — clear the way.

Enter Father Christmas.

Here come I, old Father Christmas,

Welcome, or welcome not ;

I hope old Father Christmas will never be forgot.

I am not come here to laugh or to jeer.

But for a pocketful of money and a skinful of beer.

If you will not believe what I do say.

Come in the King of Egypt — clear the way.

Enter the King of Egypt.

Here I, the King of Egypt, boldly do appear. St. George, St. George, walk in, my only son and heir ; • Walk in, my son, St. George, and boldly act thy part, That all the people here may see thy wondrous art.

* The Turkish knight might be Emirenus, the commander of the Egyptian army, killed by Godefroi de BouiUon, the Christian general. Tasso, in his Gerusa-^ lemnu Liberata^ makes this Turk speak in the same boasting style as the Mummers do ; he says in reference to the Christians :

Mo mi confide Sol col' ombra fugarli e sol col grido.'

' We'll make them fly With our bare shadows and our cry.' ' St George married Sabra, the daughter of the King of Egypt, and according to the tale given in Percys Reliques (III. iii. 2) brought her lo England and lived at Coventry.

Old Customs and Antiquities of Swallowjield 337

Enter St. George.

Here come I, St. George ; from Britain did I spring. I'll fight the Dragon bold ; my wonders to begin, ril clip his wings, he shall not fly ; I'll cut him down, or else I die.

Enter THE Dragon.

Who's he that seeks the Dragon's blood, . And calls so angry and so loud ? That English dog, will he before me stand ? I'll cut him down with my courageous hand.

\St. George and the Dragon fight ^ the latter is killed.

Father Christmas.

Is there a doctor to be found, All ready near at hand. To cure a deep and deadly wound And make the Champion stand ?

Enter the Doctor.

Father Christmas addresses him : * What can you cure ? * Doctor. All sorts of disease. Whatever you please. The muUygrubs, the palsy, and the gout. If the Devil's in, I'll blow him out. I carry a little bottle of alicampane ; Here, Jack, take a little of my flip-flop. Pour it down thy tip-top. Rise up and fight again.

Then St. George sometimes fights and kills the Turkish knight^ and the performance ends with Father Christmas going round with the hat.

Another very old custom, which has been kept up at Swallow- field till two years ago, is the Harvest Home. Macrobius tells us that, among the heathens, the masters of families, when they had got in their harvest, were wont to feast with their servants

z

338 Swallowjield and its Owners

who had laboured for them in tilling the ground, and this festivity is undoubtedly of the most remote antiquity. In the sixteenth century in these parts, not only was the last load of corn crowned with flowers, but the men carried about an image richly dressed, with a sheaf of corn in its arms, which probably represented Ceres. There is an account in the * Illustrated London News ' of the Harvest Home at Swallowfield in October, 1863, at which the parishioners assembled and marched in procession to the parish church to return public thanks for the recent abundant harvest. The sermon on this occasion was preached by the Rev. Charles Kingsley, and after the service the congregation returned in procession, headed by a wagon-load of wheat drawn by four gaily decorated horses, to the park, where the National Anthem was sung, and a dinner was given to about 350 of the farmers and labourers and their wives, after which the entertainment concluded with rural sports.

Looking back over the period of years which this history covers, it will be seen that many of the old customs have died out ; but though here, as elsewhere, * the old order changeth, yielding place to new,' it may be hoped the spirit of neighbour- liness and good will which inspired the jollities and festivities of old times will never lack the support and encouragement it has always received from Swallowfield and its owners.

ADDENDA ET CORRIGENDA

Page 7, Line 12

Mr. Horace Round, in his ^Peerage Studies/ published since this work has gone to press, says that he sees ^ no reason to suppose that the Earl's (Roger Fitz-Osbern*s) sons were illegitimate,' and anyhow Mr. Round conclusively proves that Raynald (or Reginald) married Emelina, daughter of Hamelin de Ballon, and that he had three sons and two daughters, William Fitz Reginald, Reginald de Ballon, Hameline, Agnes and Juliana.

Page 16, Line ii

Bulla pro Johanne de Despenser de Capella constituenda in

Fundo proprio

Alexander Episcopus, servus servorum Dei, dilecto filio Electo Sares- berien. salutem et apostolicam benedictionem. Dilectus filius, Nobilis vir, Johannes le Despenser, nobis humiliter supplicavit ut, cum ipse a Matrice Ecclesia adeo sit remotus, quod, propter inundationes aquarum, yemali praecipue tempore, pro divinis audiendis o£Sciis et recipiendis eccle- siasticis sacramentis accedere commode nequeat ad eandem, constituend Capellam in fundo proprio, et habendi proprium Capellanum in ea, cui paratus est de bonis propriis pro sustentatione sua sufficientes Redditus assignare, licentiam sibi concedere curaremus ; Volentes igitur tibi, qui loci Diocesanus existis, in hac parte deferre, discretioni tuae per apostolica scripta mandamus quatinus eidem Nobili, facienti quod ofiert, si expedire videris, postulata concedas, sine juris prsejudicio alieni.

Dat. Anagni<e 2 Kal. Octob. Pontificates nostri anno secundo.

Plumbeo Sigillo a Filo canabeo.

z a

340 Swallowjield and its Owners

Bulla pro Johanne le Despenser

Alexander Episcopus, servus servorum Dei, dilecto filio Electo Sares- berien. salutem et apostolicam benedictionem. Sui nobis dilectus filius Nobilis vir, Johannes dictus Dispenser, tux Diocesis, petitione monstravit quod Manerium suum de Swalefeld in foresta consistit, et sibi et fiunilix suae, degenti ibidem, tutum non est, propter male&ctorum incursus, adire Matricem Ecclesiam pro audiendis divinis officiis et percipiendis ecclesias- ticis sacramentis. Unde nobis humiliter supplicavit ut in dicto manerio construendi Capellam et habendi Capellanum proprium in eadem, cui paratus est, pro sustentatione sua, de bonis propriis sufficientes Redditus assignare, sibi licentiam largiremur : Volentes itaque tibi, qui loci Diocesanus existis, in hac parte deferre, discretioni tux per apostolica scripta mandamus quatinus eidem, facienti quod offert, postulata concedas, sine juris prxjudicio alieni, si videris expedire.

Dat. Anagniae 4 Non. Octob. Pontificat^ls nostri anno secundo.

Plumbeo Sigillo a filo canabeo. (Ex autogr. Anno 40 Hen. 3 a.d. 1256.)

Page 18

When the church of Swallowfield was restored in 1870, the following persons were amongst those who subscribed for that purpose : Henry Lannoy Hunter, Esq., of Beechhill, 50/. ; Edward Cooper, Esq., 50/. ; J. Roupell, Esq., of Loddon Court, 30/. ; George Lake Russell, Esq., 25/. ; Mrs. Elliot, of Farley Court, 20/. ; Martin Atkins, Esq., of Farley Castl^ 10/. ; Miss Travers, of Wy vols Cottage, 10/. loj. ; George Norton, Esq., of Wyvols Court, /%^ ; Nathaniel Crisp, Esq., M.D., 5/. ; Sir Charles Russell, 500/. An application was made to the Duke of Wellington (Arthur, 2nd Duke) for a subscription, and his answer was too character- istic to be omitted : * Dear Sir Charles, — I too am restoring a church, and if we both agree to give the same amount no money need pass between us. — Yours, Wellington.'

The sequel is equally characteristic of that Duke. He did send a subscription for Swallowfield Church.

Addenda et Corrigenda 341

Page 19, Line 12

Omit * and his young son Adam/ and read the sentence thus : ' Sir John Le Despencer as well as Adam Le Despencer/

Page 19, Line 22

For * Reginaldus * Waterwill read * Simon ' Waterwill. Reginaldus Waterwill was one of the prisoners consigned to the custody of Simon Waterwill.

Page 21, Lines 2 and 3

Omit * Sir John had two sons : Adam Le Despencer and William Le Despencer/ and read : ^ Sir John Le Despencer left no sons, his heir being Hugh, the son of the Justiciar and the fevourite of Edward IL' Adam Le Despencer was of Stanley and Leckhampton, co. Gloucester, and belonged to a wholly distinct &mily of Despencer there seated, as explained by Mr. Horace Round on p. 307 (and note) of his ^ Peerage Studies.'

Page 32

The Rev. Hugh Pearson, in his * History of Sonning,* writes : * Some thirty years ago the late Bishop Blomfield showed me at Fulham Palace a Bull of Pope John XXU. a.d. 1320, granting the great tithes of the parishes of Shinfield and Swallowfield for the sustentation of the fabric of Hereford Cathedral, and the reason why the Bishop thought it would be interesting to me to see it was, that the Bull was endorsed by the Bishop of Sarum at Sonning, ^^ datum apud Soninge." Roger de Mortival was at that time Bishop of Sarum. . . . The great tithes continue still in the possession of Hereford Cathedral.'

The following, extracted from the Registry of the Lord Bishop of Salisbury, commencing in 1297, is a list of the 'Institutions to the Vicarage of Sheningfield, otherwise Shiningfield, otherwise Shunningfield, otherwise Shinfield, with Swalefield, otherwise Swallowfield Chapel, Berks,' to thq year 1836, when the county of Berks was transferred from the Diocese of Sarum to that of Oxford.

342

Swallowfield and its Owners

Date

6 Ides Dec 1302 3 Ides Dec. 12 10

5 Kal. July 1316 Non. Feb. 1320 .

18 Kal. Dec. 1321 17 KaL April 1340

18 Not. 1349 12 Not. 1 381 30 Oct. 1390

23 Oct. 1391 14 April 1414

28 Sept 1421 2 Aug. 1423

24 Oct. 1425

7 March 1425 5 Sept 1429 26 Nov. 1 45 1

5 Oct 1460

25 Oct 1475

29 April 1479

30 Oct 1502 10 Oct 1517

14 March 1538 5 May 1543 23 Aug. 1554

10 May 1563

8 July 1582

Patroniu

Dean and Chapter of the Church of Hereford.

Johes de Aqua Clanca, Dean of the Church of Hereford and the Chapter of the same.

Dean and Chapter of the Cathe- dral Church of Hereford.

Adam, Bi^op of Hereford,* and the Dean and Chapter of the Church of Hereford.

»> t» t»

Dean and Chapter of the Cathe«

dral Church of Hereford.

Clericiu

>>

President and Chapter of the Cathedral Church of Hereford.

Dean and Chapter of the Cathe- dral Church of Hereford.

President of the Chapter of the Cathedral Church of Hereford.

Ricardus ^x/ Armiger pro hac vice.

Christopher Lytcott de Swalofyld in comi. Berks, Armiger, pro hac unica vice.

Thomas Nasshe de Civit. Hereford, Mercator, pro hac vice.

Dean and Chapter of the Cathe- dral Church of Hereford.

Willus de Caple. Stephus de Thuneto.

Henricus de Schoroe. Thomas de Boseleure.

Johes Andrew. Hamo de Stoktone.

Rogerus de Pottesmore.

Philippus Newport.

Johes Cachepoll, per mort. PhL Newport.

Johes Robyn, per resignation. Johis Cachepoll.

Vicentius Tydulsyde, per ex- change with Johes Ropkyn.

WiUus Bayly, per mort Johis Hay.

Johes Ridelere, per exchange with Willi Bayly.

Thomas Malmesbury, per resig- nation. Johis Rideler.

WUlus Holyok.

Johes Baron.

Thomas Sullam, per resignation. Johis Baron.

E^wardus Foxe, per resignation. Thomas Sulhm.

Johes Bawdwyn, per exchange with Edwardi Fox.

Thomas Knokyn, per exchange with Johis Bawdewyn.

William Marlowe, per mort Thomas Knockyn.

Johes Bromwick, per resigna- tion. Willi Marlow> alias WilU Marler.

Nicholaus Walwey, per mort. Robert! Byggs.

Ricardus Benson, per resignation. Nicholas Walwyn.

Edmundus Tyler, per depriva- tionem Ricardi Benson.

Johes George, per mort last

incumbent. Phillippus Kjnrvyn, per mort

Johis Geo^e.

> Adam de Orleton.

Addenda et Corrigenda

343

Date

8 Nov. 1604

9 Oct. 161 1

19 July 1633

6 July 1676 25 June 1723

20 July 1737 2 Dec 1747

7 Dec 1771 IS July 1824

Patronus

The King James I. pro hac vice by lapse.

Edu Doughti, Dean of the Cathe- dral Church of Hereford and Chapter.

Johes Richardson, Dean of the Cathedral Church of Hereford.

The Bishop per lapse.

Clericus

>»

f>

Dean and Chapter of the Cathe- dral Church of Hereford.

}t

fi

»>

))

>>

>>

>)

>>

I*

Johes Greene, Deacon, M.A. Abraham Warrocke, B.A.

Gulielmus Cosyn, per mort« Thomas Hasket.

John Okes, per mort. last incum- bent

Nicholas Rogers, A.M., per mort. Johis Okes.

Thomas Hensleigh, M.A., per mort. Nicholas Rogers.

Edward Ballard,^ D.D., per ces- sion Thomas Hensleigh.

James Jones, A.M., per mort. Edward Ballard.

Matthew Feilde, B.A., per mort. James Jones, D.D.

A few gaps will be found in this list in consequence of the Institutions not having been recorded, but I am able to add the following which I have found in the course of my researches into the history of the parish : —

In 1280 Sir Adam de Stratton.'

In 1625 John Handman.^

In 1 65 1 Mr. Springett.

In 1656 James Phipps.

In 1 749 William Etwall.

Page 94, Line 13

Fuller, in his * Worthies/ page 359, says that Sir Thomas Overbury * was the first writer of Characters of our nation.' His work was most popular, and, according to Wood, was printed several times before the author's death, and altogether it went through sixteen editions.

Page 95, Line 15

The rufFat this date attained, in dimensions and fineness, the most extra- vagant pitch of absurdity. It reached behind to the very top of the head, and the fineness of the lawn or cambric of which it was made was such

' Minister's accounts.

' John Handman, Vicar, witnessed the will of Samuel Backhouse.

344 Swallowfield and its Owners

that Stowc prophesies they would shortly * wear ruffles of a spider's web/ Lord Derby has a most beautiful miniature, by Isaac Oliver, of Lady Essex in a ruff of this kind, and she really looks as if she had a giant spider's web around her, which metaphorically seems to have been the case. In order to support so slender a fabric, a great quantity of starch became necessary, the skilful use of which was introduced into England by a Mrs. Dingen van Plesse in 1 564, who taught her art for a premium of five guineas. Starching was subsequently improved by the introduction of various colours, one of which, the yellow dye, was the invention of Mrs. Turner. This shade went out of ^shion in consequence of the inventor wearing a ruff of it when she was executed, just as, in modern times, for many years no one would wear black satin because the notorious murderess, Mrs. Manning, was hanged in a dress of that description.

Page 100, Line 10

In June 1587, Christopher Marchant, i?//^; Jeninges, took proceedings in Chancery against John Litcott concerning the ownership of 1 8 acres of land in Swallowfield called Perkes Meade.^ He stated that * whereas King Edward VI., in October 1552, by Roger Amias, his surveyor, and Chris- topher Lidcott, Esq., then steward of the King's manor of Swallowfield, in consideration of a fine paid, granted to Agnis Marchant, alias Jeninges, plaintiff's mother, Alice her daughter, and to present plaintiff, the reversion of Perkes Meade in Swallowfield on the death of John Marchant, alias Jeninges, plaintiff's father, then tenant for life, and said Agnis held it after John's death, said Alice after Agnis's death ; that when Christopher, present plaintiff, entered upon it on the death of Alice in August 1582, Stephen Lince, gent., expelled him. Christopher Marchant then brought a bill against him, to which Stephen Lince made answer denying plaintiff's claim ; plaintiff replied, Lince rejoined, and a commission was appointed and a trial ensued in the Court of Chancery. By Lince and Lidcott's desire, the trial was referred to Common Law at Lidcott's costs ; Lince to yield present possession if judgment were given for plaintiff. Judgment was so given and a decree in Chancery for plaintiff to hold the premises by copy, and he entered upon it. But John Lidcott, although he has granted away

^ Perke Made is mentioned in the accounts of the Reeve at Swallowfield in 1354, and there is some meadow land which still goes by that name*

Addenda et Corrigenda 345

the premises by lease for 2,000 years, constantly attempts his expulsion, and threatens his life.'

John Lydcott's answer is that he is seised in his demesne as of fee in the manor of Swallowfield, and of Parkes Meade thereto belonging : that about the year 1572 he leased the said meade to one John Phippes for a term yet enduring, who conveyed his interest therein to Stephen Lince. Defendant is bound to Phippes in 400/. for the peaceable enjoyment of said land, and refuses to be bound by the recovery at the Common Law. The result was that an * attachment ' was awarded against Lydcot to the Sheriff of Berks. — (Chancery Proceedings, Eliz. M. 2, No. 21.)

Page 230, Line 7 For ^ Anna de Rambouillet,' read ^ Charlotte Serrau.'

Page 243, Line 16

Omit ^ and lived to be nearly a hundred years old^' which applies to her aunt, Mrs. Lambart, nie Jennings.

Page 256, Line 3 (from the bottom)

Sir Henry Russell, when he went to India, left his children under the charge of their aunt, the Duchess of Dorset, and they spent most of their time at Knowle. Anne Russell, the eldest, who was a lovely girl, died there in 1808, aged 20. It is said she was engaged to Lord Palmerston, afterwards Prime Minister.

Page 268, Line 16

In his * Recollections,* George David Boyle, Dean of Salisbury, writes of Sir Henry Russell as follows : ^ In his &mous drama. Sir Henry Taylor sap the world knows nothing of its greatest men, and most men know from their own experience how men of great ability often pass their days in obscurity.^ • • . Bad health compelled Sir Henry to live a very quiet life,

^ Surely these last words cannot be more strikingly applied than to the Dean himself, who has passed away since I wrote the above.

346 Swallowfield and its Owners

but he was never idle, and always continued to take an active interest in Indian questions. The letters of ^^ Civis " originally appeared in the Times^ and were afterwards published as a pamphlet. They showed how com- plete was Sir Henry's knowledge of India, and the style bore traces of the diligent student of English literature. A conversation with Sir Henry on the merits of Johnson, or the power of Hazlitt's criticism, was a real enjoyment. He was particularly kind to me, and I treasure the recollec- tion of his sanity and wisdom. He possessed a charming library, often used by his neighbour, the authoress. Miss Mitford, who dedicated one of her latest writings to Lady Russell, a French lady, whose spirit and pleasantness were inherited by her children.'

Page 309

Among the papers of the late Mr. Richards of Mattingley is a schedule with this title : * Reding Parcell' possessionu' nuper attinet* monasterii ibidem &c.' The valuation which follows is described as * pro Will'mo Gray de London, generos*,* and is endorsed * Mr. Blagrave's particulers.' This adds weight to other proofs that John Blagrave got Bulmarsh through his wife, who had it from her first husband. That this William Gray was one and the same as the ballad-writer is borne out by the following : — When St. Andrew's Church, Sonning, was being restored in 1852, the vault under the vestry, belonging to the Blagrave femily, was examined* It was full of co£Sns, and against the wall was a stone monument repre- senting six kneeling figiu'es, the dress being that of the time of Queen Elizabeth. There was no name, but the following inscription, in which one word is partially efiaced :

^ If life or . . . ge might be bought

For silver or for goulde, Still to endure it would be sought.

What king would then be oulde ? But all shall pass and follow us.

This is most certain treuthe. Both the high and lowe of each degree.

The aged and the youthe. As ye be found meete or unmeete

Against the dreadful hower.

Addenda et Corrigenda 347

As ye be found so shall the sweete

Be served with the sower. All this is said to move their hartes

Which shall this hear or see, That they according to their partes

May follow death as we.'

Wishing to know the origin of this epitaph, some one put the question in ^ Notes and Queries,' which produced the desired information, namely, that ^ these stanzas are part of a much longer piece called ^^ An Epitaph on Gray," which appears in " Ballads from Manuscripts," p. 437, ** Lykynge " is the missing word.' The monument is now on the east wall of the south chancel aisle ^ at Sonning.

Page 293, Line 28 For * whose son,' read * whose brother.'

Page 334

Amongst the more modern monuments in Swallowfield churchyard may be mentioned those erected to the memory of the following persons : Alice Bacon, daughter of the present Vicar ; George Brackenbury, Esq., C.B. ; John Brooks, Esq., of Farley Court, M.P. for Altrincham ; Colonel Gray, of Farley Hall ; Lady Arthur Lennox ; Arthur Charles Wriothesley Lennox, Esq. ; George Norton, Esq., of Wyvols Court ; and John Boone Roupell, Esq.

There are also several tombstones to members of the families of Searle, Terry, and Cooper, who have succeeded each other as owners of the same land at Sheprige (or Sheepsbridge) for 150 years.

At the time of the restoration of the church there were several monu- mental slabs on the walls, which were unfortunately, as I think, removed and placed where they now are, in that portion of the building which is curtained off for the vestry and choir, and where they are completely hidden from view. Some of these were erected to members of the family of Hunter of Beechhill and of Mortimer Hill. There is also a marble

' See Coates's Reading and Rev. Hugh Pearson's Simning.

348 Swallowfield and its Owners

mural tablet, of good design, to the memory of Newton, wife of John Walter, Esq., of Farley Hill, Swallowfield, who died in 1772, aged 38. She was the only daughter and heir of Alexander Walker, Esq., High Sheriff of Berks in 1751, described as *of Swallowfield and Witton Hall Plantation, Barbadoes/ He was probably a son of William Walker ' (2nd son of Sir Walter Walker, of Bushey Hall, Advocate to Queen Catharine of Braganza), whose wife was Mary, daughter of — Pryce, of Newton, and hence, no doubt, the unusual Christian name of Mrs. John Walter. Her father, John Walter, of Farley Hill, was of the same fiimily as Sir John Walter, of Sarsden, Oxfordshire, Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer in 1630. There is also a mural tablet hidden away to the memory of Emma, daughter of Justinian Casanujor, of Potterells, Herts, who died at Farley Hall in 1 840. The church contains six memorial windows. On the north side there is one dedicated to the memory of Alice Bacon, daughter of the present Vicar, and one to the Standish family, who formerly owned Farley Hall. On the south side there is one to Mr. John Brooks, of Farley Court, and two put up by the Rev. John Kitcat (Vicar of Swallowfield for twenty years, 1 855-1 875), in memory of his wife, Emma de Winton, and her father and mother. And in the Russell Tribune there is one to Sir Charles Russell, 3rd Bart., V.C.

> From him is descended the present General Sir Frederick Forestier Walker.

INDEX

Abbiss, James, 212

Abbot, Archbishop, no, in

Abbotts Ann, 208

Abingdon, Abbey of, 9, 43

Acator or Akatour, le, 52

Addison, 125

Addison, Governor Gulston, 198, 204

Agnes, Princess Katharine's nurse, 14

Albret, Bernard d'Ezi, Lord o( 60

Aldworth, church at, 43

Richard, 112, 170 Alewy, John Ailway or, 23 Alexander, John, 238

Richard, 130 Aleyn, Adam, 50

John, 23, 26, 36

Nicholas, 26

Simon, 36 Algar, Osmund, 25 AUfrey, Major, 230 Alton, 16 Aluric or Alaric, 2 Alvarez, 200, 201 Amherst, Lord, 286 Amsterdam, the Pitt Diamond at, 210 Anagni, 17, 339, 340 Anne of Bohemia, Queen, 63 Anne, Princess, after Queen, 140, 141,

I43» 144 Annesley, Francis, LL.D., F.A.S.,

M.P., 237 Anstcy, the poet, 253 Antommarchi, Dr., 278 Anton, George, 46 Katherine, 46 Thomas, 46 Anvers, Alice d', 44 Appleton, Thomas Gold, 301 Apprice, Tom, 170, 173 Apuldcefield, Apeldore or, 36

Apuldrefield, Margery, 36, 37

Sir Henry, 36 Aragon, Queen Katharine of, 86, 126 Arborfield, 108, 109, 114, 130^ 269 Archer, Agnes, 53 Arches, John, 69 Archewode, John, 35 Ardeme, John de, 41

Thomas de, 41 Arundel, Earl of, 65

Lady Agnes, 66, 67

Joan, 67

John, 63

Margaret, 67

Sir William, 62-67 Ashroole, Elias, 72, 117, 124, 125, 128,

136, 149 Ashton, John, 178-179 Ash way, Sir Stephen, 37 Atfield, 37 Atkinson, Mr., 257 Atte Beche, Galf, 35

Job., 35 Atte Brout, Will., 35 Atte Folde, Barth., 35 Atte fforde, Joh., 35 Attehache, Peter, 50 Attehole, John, 50 Atte Hume, Jok, 35 Atte Lane, Barth., 35 Atte Leghe, Alex. 35 Atte Msshe, Henry, 35 Atte Stonhull, Joh., 35 Atte Twychen, Steph., 35 Aubrey, 125

Avisa, Princess Katharine's nurse, 14 Axholme, Isle of, 76 Aylesbury, Frances, daughter of Sir Thomas, 137 Lord, 166, 171

350

Swallowfield and its Owners

Ayliffe, Anne, daughter of Sir George,

m

Aylmer, Lord, 254

The Hon. Rose, 253, 254 Azoth, the spirit, 127

Backhouse, Elizabeth, 107

Flower or Flora, Lady, no, 116, 120-123

Flower, Lady, 133, 137

John, 127

Sir John, 108, no, 120

Nicholas, 99, 134

Origin of name of, 99

Rowland, 100

Samuel, 99, 108

Thomas, 99

William, 124, 127

Sir William, 101, 133, 136 Bacon, Edmund Bacoun or, 40

John, 267

Sir John, 40

Lord, 94, 96

Margaret, 41

Margery, 41

Rev. Maunsell, 267 Badger, Augustine, 194

Chambers Hyde, 194

Hannah Chambers, 194

John Hyde, 194 Balcombe, Betsy, 286, 287, 333, 334

Thomas, 275, 287, 288, 289, 290,

293, 332 Ball, Colonel Joseph,. 239

Joseph, 239

Mrs. Joseph, 239

Mary, 239

Colonel William, 239

The family of, 239 Ballon, Hamelin de, 339

Emelina de, 339 Balmain, Comte, 281 Banbury, William Knollys, Earl of, 97 Bar, Henri de, 62 Barclay, David, 249

Robert, 249 Bardolph, John, 56 Barker, Anthony, 130

John, 89

Julian, 89

William, 112 Barlow, Sir George, 266 Barnes, Bartholomew, 101

Elizabeth, 100

Baron, Mr., 169 Bartmansemmer, Mr., 218 Bath, Bailiffs of, 1 1 Bathurst, Lord, 189

Peter, 189 Beauchamp, Anna de, 76

Guy de, 28

Henry de, 76

Thomas de, 30^ 57, 64, 65, 69

William de, 28 Beaumaner, 20 Beaumont, Aroicia de, 6

Petronel de, 6 Beaumys, Beams, Bealmes, or, 20 39,

40, 42, 45, 47, 55 Beaurcpaire, ^4, 68 Beard, Francis, 113 Beche, Alice de la, 44

Edmund de la, 43, 44

Isabel de la, 44

John de la, 44

Lady Margery, 40-42

Philip de la, 39

Sir Nich. de Isi, 39, 40 Beches, the De la, 39 Beckley, Humphrey, 113 Bedel, Johne le, 35

Thomas le, 23 Bedford, De Coucy, Earl of, 61, 62

Francis Russell, Earl of, 98

IsabelI2^ Countess of, 58, 62

Jacqueline, Duchess of, 71

John Plantagenet, Duke of, 69, 70

William Russell, Duke of, 98 Beech Hill, 55, 168 Beke, Laurence, 227 Belasyse, Hon. Mary, 216 Belli ngham, Elizabeth, 108

Samuel, 107 Belton, 21

Bennett, Sir Henry, 162-3 Benyon, Daniel, 206, 208

Richard, 206 Beransby, 20

Berd, Wilham and John, 23 Berghes, monastery of, 59 Bermondsey, Abbey of, 83 Bernard, Josiah, 118 Bemers, James, 52 Bertrand, G^n^ral and Comtesse, 273,

278, 279, 280, 281, 282, 285, 293, 293 Berwick, Hugh de, 56 Best, Mr., 225 Bevan, Sylvanus, 248, 249

Timothy, 248

Index

351

Biscoe, Elisha, 250

Bishop, Bisshop, Bishopp, or, 131

Richard, 131

William, 131, 316 Black water, the, 213 Blagrave, Anthony, 104

Edward, 112

John, 124, 181, 309, 310, 346

Joseph, 309 Blandford St Mary, 214, 216 Blandy, John, 112 Bligh, John, 192, 193

Lady Theodosia, 192, 193

Thomas, 192 Blosset, Elizabeth Dorothy, 231

Solomon, 231 Blunt, Gilbert le, 21, 22 Boconnoc, 212, 216, 224, 225 Boleyn, Queen Anne, 88 Bolingbroke, Roger, 73, 75 Boiling, Johne, 35 Bonaparte, Napoleon, 273-293 Boniface, Archbishop, 13 Borlase, Elizabeth, 99, 102 John, 99

Sir William Borlace or, 100, 104 Boston, 301 Boulton, Captain, 201 Bowyer, Sir Will., 233 Boyle, Hon. Robert, 159, 177 Brabant, Duke of, 58

Margaret of, 59 Brackenbury, C.B., George, 269,

347 Braddeley, 79

Bramshill, Bromselle or, 8, 1 10

Branch, Sir John, 316

Bray, the Vicar of, 36

Braybrooke, Lord, 109, 248

Breteuil, Adelina de, 5

Eustace de, 6

Gilbert de, 7-9

Guillaume de, 5, 6

Ralph de, 6

Roger de, 6, 7, Breteuil or Bretteville, 2, 7 Breton, Ralph le, 6 Brewes, Braose or, 41 Briars, the, 275, 332 Bridport, Lord, 264 Brocas, Sir Bernard, 68

Sir John, 37 Brodrick, Sir John, 174 Brooke, Sir Richard, 103 Brooks, John, 347»348

Brumsted, Mr. and Mrs. Bromstead or,

160, 169 Brydges, Jane, d. of Sir Giles, 318 Bryen or Brienne, Sir William de, 67

Joan de, 67 Buckeridge, Thomas, 112 Bullock, Robert, 37, 56 Bulmarsh, 346 Bulmarsh Heath, 232 Bulstrode, Cecily, d. of Edward, 46 Bumble, Charles Dickens's dog, 308 Burnet, Gilbert, 135, 141, 189 Buscogh, the Prior of, 42 BuUer, Mr. Justice, 263 But, Osbert le, 27 Byfleet, 77, 78

Cade, John, 92

Camden, Charles Pratt, Lord, 212, 228,

231 Camelford, Thomas Pitt, ist Lord, 225

2nd Lord, 225 Campden, Viscountess, 141 Canterbury, Abbot, Archbishop of, i io» III Boniface, Archbishop of, 13 Hubert Walter, Archbishop of, 1 1 Stephen Langton, Archbishop of, II Cantrill, Payn, 112 Capel, Arthur, Lord, 21, 137, 139 Lady Charlotte, 193 Edward, 45, 46 Sir Giles, 45 John, 45 Theodosia, 137 Sir William, 45 Carlaverock, the siege of, 29 Carr, Lady Anne, 98 Sir Robert, 93 Carleton, Sir Dudley, loi, 102, 103, 104,

III Carlton Castle, 20 Casamajor, Emma, 348 Jane Amelia, 266 John, 266 Justinian, 348 Castile, Peter, son of Alphonso of, 58 Catharine, Princess Katluurine or, 13, 14 Cator, Clement ia, 52 Johanna, 52 John, 52

William Catour or, 52 Cavenby, 20 Caversham, 97, loi

352

Swallowjield and its Owners

Cecil, Hon. Frances, 233 Chaboulon, 276 Chamberlain, John, loi, 102 Chandler, John, 32 Chantrey, 269, 270, 271, 272 Chapel- 1 zod, 155 Chappie, William, 215 Chardin, Elizabeth, 229

Jane, 229

Sir John, 229

John, 229

Julia, 229 Charing, the Hermit of, 1 5 Charlton, Hundred of Cereledone or, i,

16 Chatham, Lord, 212, 222 Cheke, Alyhiva or Alvina, 22, 23 Chelmsford, Lord, 307 Cheney, Catharine or Katharine, 90

Robert, 90 Chester, Anne, 108

Thomas, 108 Chester Castle, 74 Chevening, 210 Chewe, John, 64 Cheyney, John, 90

Katharine, 90

Robert, 90

Thomas de, 22, 90 Chiffinch, Mr., 165

* Children of Westminster Abbey,* 15 Chittee, Vincatec, 205, 206 Cholewarton, 8 Cholmondeley, Charles, 209 Churchill, Sarah, Lady, 143

Sir Winston, 141 Clarendon, Edward Hyde, ist Earl

of, 138, 139, 140

Henry Hyde, 2nd Earl of, 140- 189

Edward Hyde, 3rd Earl of, 190- 192

Flora, Countess of, 140-185 Clarke, Edward, 112 Clement VIL, Pope, 64 Clerke, Dorothy, 233

George, 233

Sir Talbot, 233 Clerkenwell, 129 Cleve, Margery, 70, 71

Nicholas, 70, 71 Cleves, Queen Anne of, 88 Cobham, Eleanor, 72-75

Margaret, 67

Reginald, 72

Cockbum, Sir George, 275, 289 Cocksetters, Coxetters or, 240 Codrington, William, 118 Coke, Lord, 94 Coley, 233

Colleton, James Edward, 234 Collins, Wilkie, 211, 303 Colney, John de, 52

Richard de, 49, 51, 52

Thomas de, 48, 49, 51, 52 Conway, Moncure, 240 Cooper, Edward, 340 Cope, Lady, 104

Sir Anthony, loi, 104

Sir William, 8, loi, 104 Corbet, Harriet, Lady, 224

Sir Andrew, 102

Sir Richard, K.B., 102

Sir Robert, 102

Sir William, 224 Cordray, John, 64 Cormeilles, Abbej^ of, 5, 6 Combury, Cathanne, Lady, 184, 188,191, 192

Edward Hyde, Viscount, 190, 192

Henry Hyde, Viscount, 137, 138,

>39 Comwallis, Lord, 266

Cotterell, Richard, 113

Cotton, Dame Margaret, 85

Thomas, 112 Coucy, Ingelram de, 61-63

Philippa de, 62 Cowley, Eart 265 Cowper, Lady Anne, 234 Croke, Isabella, 227

Sir Robert, 227 Crosbie, Sir Edward William, 244 Curgenven, Rev. Thomas, 218,220 Curthose, Robert, 5 Curtis, Zachary, 113 Curzon, Anne, 99

Thomas, 99

Dalby, Edward, 332 Dalton, John de, 41, 42, 43

Robert de, 42, 43 Dalzell, Gibson, 236

Robert, 236

General Hon. Robert, 236

Miss C. M. L., 230, 237 Danebridge, 8 Danvers, Alice, 44

Joan, 44, 45

Robert, 44

Index

353

i I

Danvers, Thomas, 42

William, 44, 45 Darcy, John, 42 Damley, £arl of, 115 Dartmouth, Lord, 317 Davies, Sneyd, 231, 232 Dawson, Elmira, 109

George, 109

George Pelsant, 109 Deane, Francis, 131 Decons, Richard, 85 Delamere, Lord, 207, 217 Delancey, Sir William, 280 Delawarr, John, Earl, 238 Denmark, Prince George of, 143 Denmark House. See Somerset House Derby, Lord, 307 Despencer, Adam Le, 21, 24, 341

Geoffrey Le, 12, 13

Hugh Le, 20, 21, 341

John Le, 13, 15, 17, 20-23, 34 » Dickens, Charles, 303, 304, 305, 306,

307, 308 Dickinson, Mr. and Mrs. Charles,

312

Didenham, Nicholas de, 21-23

or Didingham, 45, 47 Dionisia, 13 Docmanique, Mr., 165 Dodd, Amelia, 243

Elizabeth, 226

Harry, 244

Isabella, Lady, 227, 228

Jane, 229, 232

John, 226

Colonel John, 245-248

Juliana, 232, 238

Randal], 226

Sir Samuel, 226 Dorchester, Countess of, 169, 172 Dorset, John Frederick, 31x1 Duke of, 256

Arabella Diana, Duchess of,

256, 345 Dounham, Henry, 58 Doveton, Sir John, 293

Sir William, 274, 275, 293 D^Oyley, John, 112 Drumlanng, Lady, 182 Dugdale, Sir William, 149 Dunch, Edward, 112 Duncombe, Sir Saunders, 129 Dunningshole, 239, 317 Durdant, Thomas Durdent or, 102 Dutton, Sir Thomas, 42

Eames, 240 Earle, Edward, 250

Timothy Hare, 249

Timothy Hare Altabon, 250, 251 Earley or Erlegh, 22, 23 Easthampstead, 70, 181 Edlyn, John, 112 Edmonstone, Mr., a6$ Edred, Thomas, 26 Edward L, 16, 17

Edward IIL, horses of King, 53-55 Eleanor of Castile, 17 Eleanor of Provence, 13-15, 17 Elizabeth, Queen, loi Elizabeth of York, 83, 84, 85, 86 Elizabeth Woodville, 79, 80, 82, 83 EUesborough, 228 Elliot, Edmund, 178 Elliot, Mrs., 312, 340 Ellis, John, 44 Ellys, John Fitz-, 44 Elwes, Sir Gervase, 95, 96 Emerson, 301 Englefield, 124 Essex, Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of,

93 Frances, Countess of, 93, 94, 344

Esturmy, Henry Stormy or, 56

Eton, 212, 213, 217

Evance, Sir Stephen, 199, 218

Evelyn, John, 135, 147, 149, 151, 154,

155,257 Mary, 148 Eversley, 331 Evesham, 20, 24 Eye, the Witch of, 73, 75 Eyre, Rev. Richard, 210^ 214 Ezi, Bernard, 60

Fair, the Frost, 145--7 Fane, Mary, wife of Lord, 217 Farle, William, 242 Farley Castle, 325 Farley Court, 312, 347 Farley Hill, 238 Farley, 45

Fazakerley, Hugh, 42 Felbrigge, Dame Margaret, 67

Sir Simon, 65 Fenwick, Rev. T. Burrows, 208 Ferrers, Alionore, 25 Ferriby, John, 44, 56, 57, 68

Katharine de, 68

William de Fercby or, 57, 68

A A

354

Swallowfield and its Owners

Fields, James T., 301 Fielding, 306

Finch, Johanna, d. of John, 332 Fitz-Alan, Richard, 63 Fitz-Elys, Isabel Ellis or, 44

John, 44 Fitz-Osbem, Roger, 6, 7

William, 2-5 Fitz-Turold, Gilbert, 7 Flamstead, 141 Flanders, Louis, Earl of, 58 Flaxman, 253 Fleetwood, Elizabeth, 208

Elizabeth Debonnaire, 253

Sir Peter Hesketh, 253

Governor, 208 Fletcher, John, 240 Fletchers, 240, 241 Flory, Flourreye, Florrie, or, 240 Flovaygne, Nicholas de, 48 FonUine, Benott Mottet de la, 267

Jean de la, 126 Forman, Dr. Simon, 93 Forster, Sir Humphrey, 171

John, 307 Fort St. George, 219 Fortescue, Hon. George, 225

Henry, 258 Forty Hill, 221 Foscolo, Ugo, 258, 259 Fossard, William, 5 Fourbour, John, 51 Foureby, John de, 56 FoxhiU, 45, 46 Foxle, Constantia de, 37

Sir John de Foxley or, 37

Katharine, 37

Thomas de, 37 Franklin, Christian, 25 Fraser, William, 204 Fraunklyn, John le, 25

Simon le, 25

Walter le, 22 Freame, Joseph, 249

Pnscilla, 249 Frederick, Thomas, 204 Fulker, Elizabeth, 241

Flora, 241, 334

Henry, 241

John, 241, 334 Fynchamstede, 27, 46

Gad's Hill, 303, 306 Gaddesden, Doctor, 28

Gael, Amicia de, 6

Raoul de, 6 Galway, Henri de Massue, Earl of, 231 Gansell, Major- General, 246, 247 Gardner, Sir Alan, 264 Garraway, Mrs., 163 Garrick Club, 303, 305 Garrick, David, 231, 263 Garth, Charles, 234

Lieutenant, 246, 247 Gawton, Rev. Thomas, 232 Gibbons, Grinling, 257 Gibson, Anne Mary, 236

Sir John, 236 Gise, Beatrix de Gyse or, 32, 33

Margaret de Gyse or, 32, 33 Glaseour, Catherine, 226

Margaret, 226

William, 226 Gloucester, 6

Eleanor, Duchess of, 73, 74, 75

Humphrey, Duke of, 73, T^ Goddard, Mrs. Bridgett, 132 Godelake, Thomas, 41 Gold, John, 26 Golden Square, 221 Goldsborough, Sir John, 197 Goodier, Mr., 125 Goston, Robert Gosson or, 112 Gouldesborough, Flower, 1 10 Gourgaud, General, 278, 293 Grafton Regis, 79 Graham, Dr., 311

James, 151, 168, 178 Granby, Marquis of, 231, 245, 246, 248 Grandison, John, Earl of, 220

Lady, 220 Graseley Court, 312 Grave, John de la, 25 Gray, Colonel, 347

William, 309, 346, 347 Greene, Dawson, 269

Thomas, 258 Greentree, Mrs., 274 Grene, Rev. John, 44

Thomas, 44 Grenville, Anne, Lady, 225 Grey, Henry, 229

Isolda de, 36

Sir John, 79

Lora, 202 Greystoke, Sir Henry de, 50 Grigg, Edward, 317 Grisacre, James, 74 Grose, Mr. Justice 263, 264

Index

355

Grove, William, 113 Guidemar, Margery, T^^ 75 Gunnor, Duchess, 3 Gurdon of Letton, 17

Adam de, 16, 17 Gwyn, Mr., 159 Gyrdeler, Girdler or, 170, 328 Gyse, Beatrice de, 32, 33

Margeria de, 32, 33

Hasker, 243 Hall^ 303, 304 Hamilton, Alexander, 237

Emma, Lady, 311

Lord William, 234 Hamley, Mr., 169 Hance, Alionore, 79, 80

Richard Hannes or, 79, 80 Hancepe, Thomas, 56 Handman, John, 107 Hanham, Elizabeth Villiers Pitt, 224

John, 334 Hannay, 8

Hans Place, No. 22, 311 Harcourt, Due d', 8

Earl of, 8

Tork d', 8

Sir William Vernon, 8 Hardwicke, Lord, 260 Hardy, Sir Thomas, 213 Harris, General, 265 Harrison, John, 108, 168

Sir Richard, 113 Hartington or Hertyndon, Adam de, 57 Hatfield Peverall, 40 Haversham, Lord, 233 Hawes, Francis, 234 Hawley, Major, 174, 175, 177 Hawthorne, Nath., 301 Hawtrey, Bridge^ daughter of Sir

William, 227 Hayes, James, 234 Hayley, 253 Headsofrey, 7 Heath, Henry, 113 Heckfield Heath, 233 Hedd, John, 112 Hedges, Sir William, 195 Helwysse, Sir Gervase, 95, 96 H^nault, Richilde, daughter of Reinald,

Earl of, 5 Henley-on-the-Heath, 70 Henry IV., King, 70 Henry VI., ^^

Hensell, Henry, 112 Henshaw, Bernard, 122

Flower (Lady Backhouse), no, 116, 120-123

Hannah, 252

Henry, 253

Thomas, no, 123, 134 Hereford, Cathedral of, 28, 32, 33, 341

Dean and Chapter of, 34

St. Thomas, Bishop of, 34 Herfast or Erfast, 3 Herlee, Sir Henry de, 22 Hertyndon, Adam de, 57 Hicks, Sir William, 112 Hide, Henry, 317 Highfelde, 27 Hoare, Benjamin, 223

Henry, 223 Hobart, Sir Miles, Ii2 Hodeman, Thomas, 50 Hodson, Colonel and Mrs., 275 Hogarth, 307

Miss, 308 Holland, Thomas (Earl of Kent), 66, 68^

69 Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 301, 302 Holt, Lord Chief Justice, 176 Hoole, Mr., 260, 261 Homsey Park, 73 Hoskins, Bennett, 123 Howard, Anne, 155

Dorothy, 151

Lady Frances, 93

Queen Katharine, 88

Thomas, 112 Hungerford, Dr., 160, 169 Hunter, Sir Charles, 239

Sir Claudius, 239

Henry Lannoy, 47, 55> 239, 340 Hurst, 56

Huxley, Thomas, 332 Hyde, Anne, 138

Chambers, 194

Hannah Chambers, 194

Hon. James, 139, 143

Lady Mary, 187

Nicholas, 194 Hyde End, 194 Hyderabad, 366, 367 Hynden, Thomas de, 56

IBRACKAN, Henry, Lord, 162 Ifield, Marjory, 36, 37, 38

Sir John de, 36, 37, 38

A A 2

356

Swallowfield and its Owners

Illcgcr, Ilgcror, 2J, 51 Inglefield, Roger de, 29 Inkerman, 294, 295 Innes, James, 216

Jane, 216

Sir Robert, 216 Isabella, Princess, 58-62 Isle of Man, 65, 66, 75 Isle of Wight, 4, 76 Ivry, Ralf, Count oi^ 3

Jackson, Pauline, 183 Jacob, John, 50 Jagrenat, 211

{amchund, 204, 205 ames, Mr., 169, 212 Jaye, Flower, 121

Sarah, daughter of John, 195 Jeffreys, Judge, 165 Jennings, Ann, 233

Frances, 233

Juliana, 232, 233

Philip, 233

Sarah, 140 Jesus CoUej^e (Oxford), 130

ioanna. Princess, 39 ohn, King (of England), 11

{pi Fiance), 61 Johnson, Eliza, 239 Elizabeth, 233 Rowland, 233 Dr. Samuel, 253, 259-261 Jones, Henry, 258 Martha, 128 Dr. Walter, 128 Jourdemayn, Jordan or, 73, 75 Justice, Thomas, 112 William, 49

Katharine, Princess, 13, 14, 15 • Keightley, Lady Frances, 159

Thomas, 159, 160^ 163, 171 Kelsall, Henry, 86 Kemp, Archbishop, 73 Kendall, Miss Louisa, 249 Kenilworth, 74 Kerdeston, Margaret, Lady, 41

William de, 41 Killegrew, Sir Robert, 96 King's College (Cambridge), 228 Kingsbridge, 22 Kingsley, Charles, 18, 301, 314, 31S. 33i,

Miss, 15

Kirkby-in-Kendale, 61

Kirton, John, 64

Kitcat, Rev. John and Emma, 348

KnoUys, Sir Francis, loi, 113, 235

Knowle, 345

Lageham, 36

Lake, Mr., 169

La Lee, 56

Lamb, Charles, 254

Lambart, Charles, 243

General Hamilton, 243

Lady Hester, 244 Landor, Walter Savage, 254 Lane, Thomas, 317 Lannoy, Colonel Charles, 238 Las Cases, Comte de, 275, 291, 292, 333 Laud, Archbishop WilL, 310 Launde Abbey, 233 Law, John, 209 Le Bedel, Johne, 35 Le Clerk, Johne, 35 Le Conk, Edwardus, 35 Le Coq, Caroline, 231

Elizabeth Dorothy, 231

Henri, 230

Jane, 231

Mary, 231

Theodore, 230 Le Hert, Will., 35 Le Kinch, Stephl, 35 Le Mestr, Thomas, 35 Le Somel, Richar^ 26 Leech, John, 303 Leeds Castle, 73 Legh, Margaret, 237 Leicester, Robert de Beaumont, Earl of, 6 Lennox, Lady Arthur, 347

Lord Arthur, 296

Mr. Arthur, 347 Lenox, Duke of, 95 Letteribrd, Margeria, 71, 72

Thomas, 71, 72 Leyboume, Robert de, 24

Roger de, 20, 24, 25

William de, 25 Lifford, Earl of, 230 Lightfoot, Hannah, 249 Lire, Abbey oi^ 4 L'Isle, Gerard de, 41, 42 Lisle, Alice, Lady, 149, 150 Lister, Lady Theresa, 190 Litherland, Thomas de, 42 Lloyd, Dr. William, 128, 135, 137, 141

Index

357

Lochiel, Donald Cameron of, 249 Locke, John, 183 Loddon, The, 269 Lodewell, John de, 21 Londonderry, Pitt, Earl of, 209, 216 Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 301-3 Longwood, 279, 280, 283, 284 Lou, Joan de, 1 5, 20

Robeit de, 15, 20

Vis de, 15 Loughborough, Lord, 253 Lovayne, Margaret de, 48

Sir Nicholas, 48 Love, Nicholas, 121 Lovett, Thomas, 1 16 Lowe, Lady, 280, 284

Sir Hudson, 276, 279, 280^ 282, 283, 284, 285, 286, 288 Lowell, James Russell, 301 Luci, Geoffrey de, 1 1 Lun^ville, Academy at, 224 Lutzen, Captain, 282 Lydd, 253

Lyon, Emma (Lady Hamilton), 31 1 Lyster, Captain, 285 Lytcott, Christopher, 88-91

John, 92

Katharine, 90-92 Lyttelton, Christian, d. of Sir Thomas, 225

Lord, 225 Lytton, Anne, 99

Sir Richard, 99

Sir Rowland, 10 1

Macklin, 262, 263 Maddyson, Ralph, 113 Madras, 197, 198, I99> 203, 204, 205 Mainwaring, Sir Arthur, 95 Maldceney, William Mackney or, 56 Malcolm, Sir Pulteney, 289, 290 Mandelyn, Richard, 68 Mansfield, Lord, 260 Marcheley, Marteley or, 12, 20 Marmyon, John Marmion or, 45

Peter, 45 Martin, John Martyn or, 71, 72, 74, 75 Matilda, Queen, 4 Mattingley, 127, 346 Mauncestre, Sir Edmund, 42

Mauthe Dhoo,' 75 Mawarden's Court, 196 May, Dr., 313 Mayhew, Bartholomew, 52

Mechin, Mrs. Mary, 317 Meers, Hugh, 317 Merieth, John de, 21 Merton, 14 Metcalfe, Lord, 253

Sir Theophilus, 253 Meulent, Robert, Comte de, 5 Mew, Dr. Peter, 160 Meyrick, Lady Lucy, 216

Pierce, 216

Richard, 217 Milboum, James, 45

Richard, 45

Thomas, 45 Millais, Sir John E., 303 Milton, John, 270, 271 Minto, Earl of, 256, 266 Mire, La More or Le, 21 Mitford, Dr., 311, 312

Mary Russell, 310-315 Moggs, Molly, 108-9 Moira, Lord, 255 Molynes, Will, de, 41 Monchenu, Le Marquis de, 281 Monck, Bligh, 233 Monmouth, Duchess of, 149

Duke of, 149 Monte, Baldwin de, 5

Gilbert de, 5 Montfort, Eleanor de, 19

Simon de, 6, 19 Montgomery, Roger, 3 Montholon, Count, 274, 278, 282, 292, 293 * Moonstone, The,' 21 1 Mora, Christian, 26

Crictiana de, 26

Henry de, 26 Morden, Lord, 252 Mores, Robert Morris or, 26 Momington, Lord, 264, 265, 266, 267 Mottet de la Fontaine, Baron Benott, 267

Marie-Clotilde, 267 Mountrath, Lord, 165, 176 Mudd, Thomas, 120 Musgrave, Sir Christopher, 229 Muysson, Jaccjues, 230

Madeleme, 230 Mylbome, Thos., 45

< Nape, Jack,' 77 Napoleon, Emperor, 273-93 Needham, Robert, 224 Nepean, General, 243 Rev. Evan, 243 Neville, Alan de, 10

358

Swallowjield and its Owners

Neville, Alice, 121

Anne, 122

Sir Heniy» 103, 104

Henry, 120^ 121, 123

Meliora, 122

Richard, 171

Mrs. William, 122 New River, 129, 154, 135, 142 Newborough, James, Earl of, 184 Newbutgh, Thomas de, 12

William de, 10 Nigarclli, Dr. David de*, 70 Norfolk, Raoul de Gael, Earl of, 6 Norman, Austin, 242

Richard, 242 Norrcys, Lord, 171 Northampton, 19 Norton, George, 340, 347 Noyes, Noyse, Noice, or, 240

Oakes, Rev. Mr., 170^ 171 Oakhampton, 221 O'Brian, Catharine, 162

Henry, Lord, 162 Odiham, Castle of, 20, 54 Offlcy, Dr., 169 Okeangre, Oakhanger or, 131 O'Meara, Mr. Barry, 276, 287 Only, Roger Oncly or, 73 Orange, Prince o( 165, 166

Princess of, 166-7 Orleans, Philippe, Due d', 209 Osbem le Crepon, 3 Oseney Abbey, 12 Otway, Colonel, 212 Ovens, Sir Roger, 102 Ovcrbury, Mary, 92

Sir Thomas, 94-5, 343 Oxenbridge, Sir Robert, 106 Oxford, Wilberforce, Bishop of, 307

Pacy, 6

Padworth, 39

Paracelsus, 127

Pargiter, Rev. Mr., 120, 122

Parkyn, John Perkins or, 99

Parmere, Henry, 49

Parr, Queen Katharine, 88, 90

Parry, Francis, 159

Parsons, Sir John, 176

Parteal, Parkal or, 203, 211

Paterick, Robert, 22

Thomas, 21 Paternoster Row, 317

Pearsc, Charles, 233

Dorothy, 233

Elizabeth, 233

Thomas, 233 Pearson, Rev. Hugh, 313, 341 Peel Castle, 75 Pelliparius, Walter, 26 Penn, William, 178 Penycoke, John, 76, 77f 78, 83 Pepys, Samuel, 183-6 Philippa, Queen, 58 Phillips, Mrs. Edward, 177 Phipps, James, 131, 318

John, 318

Thomas, 318 Pickfbrd, Humfrey, 113 Pierpoint, Lady Mary, 187 Pitt, Anne, 224

Christian, 225

Edward, 105, It5>i6

Elizabeth Villiers, 224

Essex, 216

George, 21 j

Lady Hamet, 224

John, 105, 209, 216 lev. John, 195

Lucy, 217

Mary, 224

Sir Nicholas, 195

Robert, 200^ 206-8, 213, 214, 219, 220-4

Thomas, 195

Sir William, 105

William, 269, 271 Plugenet, Hugh de, 5 Plukenet, WiUiam, 29 Pocock, Giles, 168

Richard, 112, 160

William, 112 Pondicherry, 267 Pope, Alexander, 261

Thomas, 92 Pope Alexander IV., 16, 17

{ohn XXII., 32, z% Jrban VI., 64 Poppleton, Captain, 283 Porchester, Porchesia or, 15 Porter, Henry, 258 Portman, Lady, 122 Pottinger, Richard, 112 Powney, Henry, 113 Poynings, Michael, Lord le, 40, 42 Praed, William Mackworth, 236 Prescott, the historian, 301 Preston, Lord, 178, 179

Index

359

Priory, The (Strathfieldsaye), 233 Prow, Elizabeth, 80

Harry, son of Thomas, 80 Prowde, Alionore, 79

Thomas Prutt or, 80 Pye, Henry James, 171

Sir Robert, 171

QuENCi, Roger de, 25 Quenton, Sir William de, 55 Quilles, Catharine de, 217 Marquis de, 217

Ranelagh, Lady, 179

Lord, 177 Raworth, Robert, 218 Reade, Sir Thomas, 273, 276, 277, 279,

280 Reading Abbey, 79 Red Rice, 215 Rede, Edmimd, 44 Reeve, Richard, 49 Reeves, Elmira, 109

John, 109

Pelsant, 109 Restwold, Ralph de, 56 Reynolds, Sir Joshua, 261 Rich, Sir Peter, 176 Richards, Anne, 127

Bryan, 127 Ridgeway, Lady Frances, 216 Risley Mill, 169 Rivers, Lord, 105 Rochester, Laurence Hyde, Earl of, 148,

158,159, 180, 187 Rohan, Due de, 61 Romney, Geor^fe, 257

Sir William, 239 Ros, Margaret, wife of Thomas, 7th

Baron de, 67 Rose, Edmund, 53, 54 * Rose ' Inn, 108 Round, Flora, 129, 240

Thomas, 129, 243 Roupell, John, 340, 347 Rufus, Will., 5, 6 Rimdell and Bridge, 272 Russell, Anne, 345

Miss Caroline, 258, 259

Sir Charles, 293, 294, 295, 296

Charles, 258, 286

Sir George, 296-300

George Lake, 258, 340

Russell, Hannah, 253

Henry, 269

Henry, after ist Bart., 252

Sir Henry (2nd Bart), 262

Sir John, 64

Marie-Clotilde, Lady, 267

Michael, 252

Richard, 301

Whitworth, 258

Lord William, 98 Rustat, Anthony, 119

Richard, 119

Tobias, 175 Ruthin, Lord Ruthven or, 125 Rutland, Katherine, Countess of, 141

Sabot, Dr. Elias, 70 Sakewilt, Andrew Sackville or, 56 Salisbury, George David Boyle, Dean

of, 345

Roger de Mortival, Bishop of, 32 Sampa, Surapa or, 204 Sarum, Old, 221, 225 Saunders, Thomas, 225 Sawle, Lady Graves, 254 Say, Geoffrey de, 23

Katherine de, 23 Saye and Sele, Lord, 230 Schome, Henry de, 33 Scott, Sir Walter, 306 Scrope, Richard le, 65

Sir WilUam le, 65 Searle Priscilla, 195 Seger, John, 35 Selingefelle, i, 2 Sexi, the Huscarle, 2

Thomas, 2 Seymour, Lady Elizabeth, 187

Queen Jane, 88 Sharp, Henry, 317

Miss, 21 Shelley, Martha Rose, 253

Richard, 253

Sir Thomas, 68 Shinfield (Selingefelle), at the Conquest, i

in the reign of Edward the Con- fessor, 2

in Domesday, 8

severed from the manor of Swallowfield, 90

list of vicars of, 341-3 Shipbridge, Sceperig or, 21 Shorteforde, Robert de, 28 Silvius, Lady, 155 Sinsham, Sindlesham or, 118, 129, 130

36o

Swallawfield and its Owners

Siward, Alice Syward or, 35

Richard, 17 Skinner, Ann, 252, 253

John, 252 Smith, Dr. Thomas, 183

Richard, 112

William, 112 Smythe, Richard, 83 87 Soanesfelt, i, 3 Solafel, 2 Somerset, Frances, Countess of, 93-7

Robert Carr, Earl of, 93, 97, 98 Somerset House, 141, 148, I7i» 17^1 I77f

190 Sonn>'ne, Sunning, or Sonnmg, 341, 346,

347 Spencer's Wood, 21

St. Ethelbert's Cathedral, 28

St. Helena, 273

St. John, Emma de, 12-15

John, 2nd Baron de, 32, 33

John, 3rd Baron de, 36, 43

John de, 5, 10, 28, 29, 30

Sir John de, 12

Peter de, 48

Roger, 4th Baron de, 48

Roger de, 1 1

Thomas de, 5, 10, 1 1 St. Lawrence's Church, 85, 86, 87 St. Leger, Caroline, 231

Henri le Coq, 229-231

Jane, 229

Mary, 231 St. Liz, Dame Catherine, 67 St. Lo, Captain Edward, 159 St. Pol, Peter, Comte de, 71 St. Quentin, Monsieur and Madame, 312 St. Simon, Due de, 209 Standen, Mary, 108

Nicholas Love, 108

WiUiam, 108 Standryche, Will, du, 35 Stanford, Alan de, 22 Stanhope, General James, cr. Earl, 217

Philip, 2nd Earl, 217 Stanley, Sir Thomas, 74 Staverton, Mary, 119, 122

Richard, 120 Stepncs, Gouild, 35 Stewart, Lieutenant-Gcneral, 220 Stirling, Henry Alexander, 3rd Earl, 227 Stodham, Henry de, 28 Stonehousc, Sir George, Bart., 112 Stonor, Sir William, 45

Walter, 21

Stormy, Henry, 56

Stoihard, Thomas, R.A., 272

Stratford, Andrew de, 56

Stratford-under-the-Castle, 196, 216

Strathfieldsaye, 46, 105, 115, 116, 202

Stratton, Sir Adam de, 27

Strode, William, 234

Stunner, Baron, 281, 333

Styles, Francis, 112

Sucheye, John de, 35

Sutton, John, 224

Swallowfieid in the reign of Edward the Confessor, 2 ; at the Conquest, 2 ; in Domesday, i, 7, 8 ; under the Sl Johns of Stanton, 10^ 11, 12, 19, 20 ; Princess Katharine at, 14 ; under the Despencers, 15-23 ; churdi built, 18 ; granted to Baron Roger de Ley- bourne, 24-25 ; reverts to John de St. John of Lageham, 25-48 ; held by Sir John de I field, 36, 37, 38 ; the De la Beches at, 39-44 ; held by Thomas de Colney, 48-51 ; a royal park, 52- 58 ; granted to Princess Isabella, Countess of Bedford, 58-62 ; granted to Sir William Arundel, 62, 63 ; granted to Queen Anne (of Bohemia), 63 ; taken from the Earls of Warwick ( Lords in chief since 1 242X and granted to Thomas Holland, 3nl Earl of Kent, 66-69 ; granted to John Plantagenet, Duke of Bedford, 69-70 ; custmly of the manor to John Martyn, 71-75 ; two-thirds of the manor to John Peny- coke, 76 78 ; given to Queen Eliza- beth Woodville, 79- 82 ; granted to Sir William Tyrwhitt, 82, Zi ; granted to Queen Elizabeth of York, 83-86 ; granted as dower to all Henry VIII.'s queens, 86-88 ; description of manor in 1543, 89 ; sold by Kmg Edward VI. to Christopher Lytcott, 90 ; bought by Samuel Backhouse, 99-109 ; se- questrated during ownership of Sir tohn Backhouse, K.B., 1 14 : occupied y a Rosicrucian, 1 24-131 ; devolved on Flower Backhouse, 131 ; Henry Hyde, Viscount Combury, afterwards 2nd Earl of Clarendon, becomes the owner of, 137-190 ; inherited by Edward Hyde, 3id Earl of Clarendon, 190-192 ; bought by * Diamond' Pitt, 192-218 ; left to Robert Pitt, 219-224 ; Lord Chatham's brother owner of, 224, 225 ; bought for John Dodd, 226 -244 ;

Index

361

Colonel John Dodd succeeded to, 245-247 ; names of rooms at (in 1783), 247, 248 ; bought by Sylvanus Bevan, 248 ; sold to T. H. Earle, 249 ; Russells at, 252-338 Swayne, Anne, 168 Arthur, 194 Edward, 130 Joan, 130 John, 130 Margaret, 194 Mane, 130 Richard, 168 Sydenham, General, 265 Sylvius, Sir Gabriel, 155 Syms, Richard, 113 Symod (Symonds), 35

Taillour, John, 50

Talbot, George, 237

Talman, William, 169, 170

Tedrick, Alice, 26

Teye, Robert de Tye or, 65

Thackeray, William Makepeace, 303,

304, 305, 306 Thames, Frost Fair on, 145 -7 Three-mile Cross, 312 Thirlby, Dr., 231 Thompson, Ann, 233

Richard, 233

Sir Samuel, 233

William, 2J3 Thomelle, Thorn ill or, 8 Thorold, Turold or, 7, 8 Thorpe, William de, 43 Tidmarsh, 236 Tildersley, Henry de, 42 Titherley, 8 Toeni, Adelina de, 5

Roger de, 5, 6, 12 Tooke, Home, 262 Tredhom, John de, 23 Trismosin, Solomon, 127 Trist, Dorothy, 250

Nicholas, 250 Trubeville, William de, 16 Trumbull, Sir WiUiam, 181 Tnmkwell, 45, 230, 231 Trussell, Sir John, 42

William, 42, 43 Turner, Francis, Bishop of Ely, 176, 178

Mrs., 95, 344 Tumham Green, 229 Turold or Thorold, 7, 8

Tutt, W., 168

Tyndale, Rev. G. T., 250

Tyrwhitt, Sir Robert, 82

William, 82, 83 Tyrconnel, Lord, 156, 157

Unton, Sir Alexander, 45

Sir Thomas, 46 Upcott, William, 146 Urban VI., Pope, 64

Vache, Dame Isabel 67

Vachell, Tanfield, 112

Vale Royal, 207

Vanlore, Jacoba or Jacomina, 227

Marie, 227

Sir Peter, 227

Susannah, 227 Vanderber^, 210 Vane, William Holies, 2nd Viscount

Fane or, 234 Vansittart, Henry, 237 Vaux, Ed., 4th Baron, 97 Venour, de Veneur or, 239 Vestris, 260

Villiers, Lady Harriet, 220 Vincatee, 205 Vincent, 196

Vipont, Idonea Veteripont or, 25 Vis de Lou, 15 Vulrich, Richard, 26

Wadley, 45 Wake, Thomas, 81 Walcot, Humphrey, 131 Walewyn, John, 33 j Walker, Alexander, 237

Newton, 237

Sir Walter, 237 Walkestede, Walter, 44 Waller, John Barnwell, 226 Wallingford, 17, 43, 230

Viscount, 97 Wallop, Sir Henry, 102 Walpole, Horace, 228, 229, 231, 232, 248 Walter, Anne, 238

Hubert, Archbishop of Canter- bury, II

John, 237, 238, 348

Nehemiah, 238 Wanntip, Catharine, 217

Essex, 217

Rev. James, 217

Thomas Cholmondeley, 217

Rev. William, 217

B B

362

Swallowjield and its Owners

Warbleton, John, 37 Wargrave, Rectory of, 90 Warwick, Guy de Beauchamp, Earl of, 28 Thomas de Beauchamp, Earl of,

65 Thomas de Newburgh, Earl of, 12

William de Newburgh, Earl of, 10 Washington, Augustine, 239

General George, 239 Waterman, Rev. Mr., 241 Waterwill, Reginaldus, 19, 341

Simon, 19, 341 Watlington Park, 214 Weaver, Peter, 159 Webbe, John, 310

Sir William, 310 Wedgenock, Weggenok or, 83 Weevia, Eva or, wife of Turold, 7 Welder, John de, 35 Wellesley, Lord, 265-266

Lord Charles, 312

Rev. and Hon. Gerald, 268-9 Wellington, Arthur, ist Duke of, 265, 268, 289

Arthur, 2nd Duke of, 312, 340 West, Samuel, 118 Westenra, Castiliana, 244

Lady Hester, 244

Col. Joshua, 243

Warner, 243 Westminster Abbey, 14, 15 Weston, Richard, 95

Richard (of Sutton) 122 Weybridge, Priory of, ^^ Whaley, John, 228, 231, 232 Wheeler, Sir Edward, 105

Richard, 105 Whistler, John, 1 1 2 White, John, 48 Whitley, 47, 233 Whitley Wood, 235 Whittington, 61, 269 Whitton, Robert de, 53 Whitworth, Anne Barbara, 253

Charles, Earl, 253, 256 Wickart, John, 231 Wickcns, Joan, 128

Wickrig, John, 26

Widford, loo^ 134

Wilkes, John, 264

Williams, John, 134

Williamson, Sir Joseph, 162, 164, 165

Lady Katherine, 162, 163, 164,

165 Wilton, William, 112 Wiltshire, William Scrope, Elarl of, 65 Winchcombe, Sir Henry, 171 Winchester, 4, 5, 16 Windsor Forest, 16, 17, 112, 113 Witney, Manor of, 181 Woghfield, Manor of, 42 Wokingham, 103, 108^ 115, 159, 239 Wood, Anthony k, 179, 180, 182 Woodcock, George, 47

John Wodcok or, 46

Robert, 47

Thomas, 46, 47

William, 46 Woodcock Lane, 47 Woodville, Queen Elizabeth, 79

Richard Wydeville or, 71 Worcester, Lord, 171, 174, 176 Worldham, 114, 118, 120 Wright, Chief Justice, 165

John, 107

Rev. Robert, 104 Wyck, Thomas, 146 Wyfeude, William de la, 23 Wykeham, William of, 54 Wynche, William, 113

I York, Anne Hyde, Duchess of, 138

I Yorke, Field-Marshal Sir Charles, 243

I Emilia, 243

I Colonel John, 243

' Juliana, 243

I Yule, C.B., Colonel, 195

ZiNZAN, Henry, 227 Jacomina, 227 Zinzan Street, 227 Zouche, Lord, 95, no

PRINTED BY SPOTTISWOOnP. AND CO. LTD., NEW-STREET SQUARE

LONDON

This book should be returned to I the Library on or before the last date I stamped beloi

A Bne is i beyond the s]

Please ret

M

9- "'